


Bunny and Wilde

by box_o_potatoes



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Conspiracy, Evantual smut, F/M, Fluff, Mystery, Romance, Secret Society, Slow Burn, mhhh that smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-16 10:31:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 133,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7264375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/box_o_potatoes/pseuds/box_o_potatoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who knew that two seemingly unrelated murders would lead to the discovery of a major conspiracy. Who knew it would lead to chaos and would shake zootopia to its very core. And more importantly, who knew that it would turn friends into lovers...</p><p>Conspiracies, secret society, mystery, romance and yes, eventual smut.</p><p>Watch as our favorite cop duo goes down the not so figurative rabbit hole while they clumsily fall in love and solve their biggest mystery yet.</p><p>Rated for language, violence and eventual lemons.</p><p>[Nick x Judy] slow burn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. mystery and ink

**Author's Note:**

> Get the title? Bunny and Wilde! Like Bonnie and Clyde! Oh well screw you if you don’t (not really, I love you plz stay). This fanfic is set a few months after the end of the movie. It’s a mystery/adventure story with romance in it (of course) slow burn taught. Rated T for vocabulary some violence and some eventual intimacy (ooh saucy!)

“beep! beep! beep! beep!”

 

“Huurrgggh!”

 

Nick hated that god forsaken alarm clock. Every morning it would ring marking the end of a good night’s sleep and the beginning of a day of work. Make no mistake Nick loved his new legit job at the ZPD, the only thing that bothered him was the hour it required waking up at. He pressed the snooze button and looked at the time displayed on the front of the wretched object.

 

“It’s already 6:00?” sigh

 

It’s at times like those that Nick missed his old life. Hustling didn’t require any time to get up at, but then again the ZPD offered a much more steady flow of income. The red fox sat up on his bed and with eyes still weighed by sleep he took a good look at his apartment. It was relatively small and in quite a bad shape. A few clothes were laying around here and there, the sink was full of dirty dishes and it looked like the was were going to fall off due to the rott. He had been thinking for a few months now to move out, ever since he graduated from the police academy. He never got around to it thaugh, there was a certain … level of charm to this place which Nick had a hard time getting himself separated to.

 

His breakfast was quick and boring, just like every day, he ate the same god awful soggy cereals with milk that was, without doubt, close if not already past the expiration date. That was an other thing he needed to do Nick thought.

 

Once he finished eating, the furry predator went to his bathroom to wash the morning off his fur. Despite his general messy-ness in life which the state of his apartment was the proof of, Nick had always given particular attention to his looks. His fur was always soft and clean, his teeths always white and his claws uniform and well tended to. The shower also served to wake him up and when he got out of it, it was without all the murderous thought directed towards his clock. After he dried himself slowly as to not make his fur curl, Nick tended to his now clean fur, and brushed his teeths.

 

Once his whole bathroom routine done, Nick looked overall better. He was clean, more awake and aware and he looked pretty happier. What was next was his favorite moment in the morning. He put on his immaculate police uniform and the badge that came with it harboring “Nicholas P. Wilde” in golden letters. With a satisfied grin he looked himself over in the mirror.

 

“Hey there handsome! You look great as usual.”

 

Once he had a good long look at his reflection, he decided it was time to go. He took his hat, put on his signature aviator glasses and went out into the corridor. After he locked the door he noticed his long time neighbor an elderly grey fox lady, although he wasn’t sure if it was her natural fur color or if it was just the work of old age.

 

“Nicholas, my boy, come here you.”

 

“Mrs.Stutton! How are you doing today you look so well. Tell me what is your secret?”

 

“Oh Nicholas you charmer! Tell me Nicholas have you found a girlfriend yet?”

 

The sweet old lady was like family to Nick, and like family she was always sticking her snout in area of his private life Nick would have rather not.

 

“No not yet.”

 

“You’re not trying hard enough. If I was younger I would be running after you, there must be others that think the same.”

 

“Are you trying to tell me you’re interested?”

 

“Oh Nick you chicky little fox. Just don’t wait too long before finding someone or you’ll be old like me. And I want to still be there when you finally find someone.”

 

“I will try my best, gotta go now.”

 

“Be safe!”

 

“Okay mom!”

 

Nick could hear the old lady mumble, probably something about not calling her that and it making her feel old. Mrs.Stutton had always been looking after Nick and he after her.

 

Nick didn’t own a vehicle, the con artist's life wasn’t nearly lucrative enough for that. He had been saving up a bit since he was ZPD but there were more important stuff than a car. Waiting at the bus stop he profited of the time he had before the large public vehicle came, to observe the others that were waiting. The majority of the population in his neighbourhood were foxes or other small fox-like predator. All looked moderately poor in rackety clothes or badly washed. Nick, although he couldn’t be considered exactly rich, stood out of the masse by is appearance. Many were actually stealing quick glance at him, probably trying to understand how someone living in this part of town could be a cop, moreover a fox cop. Nick was used to the glances by now, he knew that many of these people were making their money in chifty or all out illegal ways. After all, he was in their shoes only a year ago, but a strange little mammal had came and changed his life.

 

The bus came to a stop in front of the small crowd and they started boarding. Nick sat at the back so he could be in peace without other people disturbing him. As he passed the rows of seated passenger he received a few more glances from the people already seated. His stop was one of the last one so he did not needed nor wanted the constant scrutiny of the new passengers, hence why he took a seat at the back. The ride was a long one, as usual, and when he finally arrived at his stop he was all too happy to exit this tin can that smelled the closed-in wet dog. No offense meant to any dogs. The precinct was still a good walk away. It was normal that the bus line passing through one of the “less respectable” part of town did not stop at the front door of the police station. After a twenty minute walk, Nick had finally arrived at the main entrance of the district one police station in the very heart of the city. Already the scene was busy with action as two officers escorted a drunk zebra that had clearly too much fun last night.

 

“Hey Nick how are you?”

 

“Good thanks, Clawhauser and you?”

 

“Oh fine you know another day of work as usual, waiting for new posts from gazel. Everybody is already there for the morning roll call, only missing you.”

 

“Ok just let me punch in and i’ll be on my way, thanks.”

 

Nick clocked in, took off his glasses and went straight for the briefing room. When he got in he saw everyone seated speaking to each other, waiting for the chief to come out with the assignments. Nick beelined for the chair which he was sharing with the only other small mammal in the force.

 

“Hey there partner!” He said with a very forced southern accent.

 

“Hey.” Was the only response the usually cheerful bunny gave back. Judy had heavy pouches under her eyes, unmistakable sign of fatigue.

 

“Well, who is the lucky bunny who kept you up all night?”

 

“A, shut up. B, my neighbors were up all night screaming at each other and the walls are very thin, so I am not in the mood for your jokes.”

 

Nick knew that was a lie. Even Though Judy might have got a bad night sleep she always was up for a bit of teasing.

 

“Wow carrots, why so rude? You’re hurting my feelings over here.”

 

“I didn’t know you had any of those.”

 

“Ah common. You know you love me.” Nick said his new catch phrase.

 

“Do I?”

 

“ATTENTION!”

 

The chief stepped in the room and everybody went quiet.

 

“Alright, my wife as gotten into her head to organize a party with her friends on sunday at the same time of the big game. So let’s get this over with so I can go back to trying to convince her not to do so.”

 

The comment inspired a few laughter and cheers from the group of policemammal.

 

“So first things first, I have a few announcement to make, most of them coming from either the PR team or mammal ressources, all of which are frankly unimportant. However I must tell you this.”

 

The chief looked down to his sheet to quote the message from the department.

 

“Be advised that all mammals in the force are responsible for the sanitation of their work environment and that all should follow a strict code of hygiene as to make their workplace all the more enjoyable to themselves and their colleagues.”

 

The officer closed the sheet and looked up at a rhino with a serious face.

 

“That by the way, means we know when you fart Joey, everyone can smell it a mile away, please use the bathrooms for crying out loud.”

 

Another wave of roars and other animal sound came as the group laugh at the poor rhino. It wasn’t really a big deal in two days everybody would have forgotten the joke at his expense.

 

“Here is the assignments. Officer Mc.Horn, Rhinowits, Wolfard, you guys are on survey duty of a leopard gang in the rain forest district. Officer Sniggens, Snarlow, Tunkerbee, there as been witness report of shady looking wolfs making transaction in the tundra district’s park, possibly drug deals. Cover the area and bring back the culprits, you are to remain hidden so to not frighten the dealers. Finally Officer Hopps and Wilde. Sigh”

 

The duo waited for the assignments as the other teams took their files and left for their respective assigned areas. Finally chief Bogo said in a slow and demoralised tone.

 

“Hopps and Wilde, I have no new assignment for you today and you already finished all your other assignments for the weak… And it’s only Wednesday. What am I to do with you?”

 

“Sir.” Said Judy, “I think I understand that officer Porkins and Coon have been having trouble with the murder case for some weeks now.”

 

“You do understand that even if you did solve the nighthowler mysterie you’re not actually detectives.”

 

“Yes sir, I am simply saying that we could be useful if they ever needed more hands or make a search of a location. Besides, what else could you use us for?”

 

“I could assign you to parking duty.” Jokingly said Bogo.

 

“And waste such talent?” The response came from Nick this time. He was all too happy to retort with a big grin stretched across his face.

 

“Shut up Wilde.” That answer had became a kind of running gag between the officers and the chief. Every time Nick would comment on what Bogo said he would ask him to shut up.

 

“Sigh. Okay I am going to ask them if they would like more people on their team, otherwise I’ll have to put you on patrol until something new comes up.”

 

“Thanks Boss.”

 

“Don’t.”

 

Bogo left the room to make a call to the investigating team's office, leaving only Nick and Judy in the room.

 

“So who do you think is going to win the tuskball game this weekend?” Nick asked.

 

“Clearly the Snow Warriors. They have had a perfect season from the beginning.”

 

“What! I never pitched you for a Snow fan.”

 

“Well obviously they’re the best team.”

 

“Excuse me! The Sand Boogies are going to make them bite the dust this Sunday, you’ll see.”

 

“No way, they had such a shitty season they were almost knocked out on their last match.”

 

“That's because they were pitched against all the best teams of the league. Now that they have dealt with the Jungle Savages it’s only fame and glory onward to the cup. The only reason the Snows have made it this far is because they had easy match against all the worst teams.”

 

“Hell no, the Snows are so going to beat the Boogies. You are just saying bullshit to get to me.”

 

“Are you serious? You really think the Snows have anything on the Boogies. Have you lost your mind? Hello is there someone in there?” Nick asked while gently knocking on Judy’s skull as if to check if there was anything inside.

 

The annoyed rabbit responded as she moved away from the fox harassing her. “I am ready to make a bet on it any time.”

 

“Fine what’s the stake?”

 

A noise came from the chief’s office signaling that he had finished his call to the investigating team.

 

“We’ll talk about it later.” Whispered Judy.

 

The door to the office opened and their superior came out of the room.

 

“Alright, Porkins and Coon have agreed to take you in. BUT, remember that you are not investigators. You are to follow every instruction they give you and help them as they ask you to. If anything new comes up in the meantime you will be recalled and assigned to new duties. Dismissed officers.”

 

“Thanks sir.”

 

“The only reason I am allowing this is because you two are my most efficient officers.”

 

They both looked at eachother surprised of the compliment.

 

“And if you tell anyone I said that we are going to have serious problem.”

 

“Yes Sir. Thank you Sir.”

 

They took their stuff and went back to the lobby where they took the corner that was leading to the investigation office.

 

The office was one of the largest in the precinct, larger than that of the chief or any lieutenant. It needed the space because there was a multitude of boards destined to have picture pinned on them as well as many cabinet that housed a large number of files on suspects or crime scenes or any clues realy. There were also some equipment like small non powerful microscope and scanners that digitalized images, but the majority of the big equipment was in the lab in the basement. In the office there were two desks for the investigators. One had written Porkins on it the other one Coon. Coon was technically the investigator in charge of the two but everybody knew that was a formality. The pig and the raccoon were good friends and they considered themselves equals. Both animals were seated behind their respective desk looking at their computer. The accounts of the investigators were directly connected to the ZPD data bank as too make it easier for them to identify recidivating criminals. None of them looked up when the two friends walked in. They were way too busy looking in the archives for something. Both were dressed in a similar way. They had white shirts with their leather shoulder holster on. Their weapons however, were not in them but sitting on their desk next to their badge.

 

“Hey guys how is it going?” Said Nick but no one responded.

 

“Hum... Bogo sent us he said you could use some help.”

 

A “hmm” was the only response that came from the raccoon.

 

“Care to walk us through the case?” asked Judy.

 

“Sigh. Fine starting from the beginning could help us move forward.”

 

“Yeah, like the three other times we did just that.” It was the first time the pig spoke up.

 

“Shut up Porkins. Okay listen up I don’t what to have to do this three more times.” The raccoon spoke as he got up from his chair. At the same time officer Porkins diverted his attention from his computer to his colleague.

 

Coon walked to a big board where there were many photos pinned. He took one of them and handed it to the duo.

 

“This is our victim. James H. Po, a panda in his mid thirties, average height, average mass average everything. He has no family that we know off, and nobody reported him missing. Officers on patrol found him in downton away from his house in chinatown. The body was found in an old warehouse after people passing by complained of the smell. The autopsy estimated that he had already been dead for a week prior to his discovery.”

 

Coon showed Nick and Judy photos of the crime scene which frankly turned their stomachs upside down. The corpse of the large panda had visibly started decaying. The photos were so repulsive, it was almost as if they could smell the body just by looking at it.

 

Porkins took over for his colleague. “He had in his possession his car keys and his wallet which was still full, nothing seemed to be missing.”

 

“Nothing apart from the blood.” Retorted the raccoon.

 

“Yes indeed, the cause of death seems to be due to bleed out from the wounds that you can see here.”

 

There was many large open wounds covering the death body that could be seen on the photos Porkins was talking about. Coon continued with the exposee.

 

“The size and depths of these wounds suggest that they were inflicted by a large predator, however there is no trace of bites taken making it impossible to run a dental search.”

 

Silence fell in the room as Nick and Judy were waiting for more details. None came however and they quickly realised that this was just as far as they went. So Judy then spoke up.

 

“There was no fur, marks or anything that could go through the data base on the crime scene?”

 

“No.” Responded the detectives in unison.

 

“And since there was no sign of blood or violence there I assume the body was moved.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

“So the killer or killers…”

 

“Killer.” interrupted Coon. “All the cuts were of same size, depth and shape. Even for two individuals of the same species claws this similar would be way to big of a coincidence to be from two different persson.”

 

“OK, so the killer attacks our victim, but without using his mouth which would have allowed us to track him.”

 

Nick took the lead, seeing where Judy was going. “Then he gets in some kind of suit or something which prevents him to shed on the victim or the crime scene and moves the body from it’s original location.”

 

“This was a premeditated crime!” Said Judy.

 

“That's what we’re thinking.” Responded Porkins.

 

Coon then followed. “We went to his apartment and talked to people but nobody there seems to know him. The only reason we know that it truly is his apartement is that his name is on the rent. Right now we have exhausted all our options and we are looking for large predator living in the same area than our victim that could hold a grudge against pandas. If we don’t find anything we are going to have to close the case and put it with the rest of the unsolved ones.”

 

“What about this tattoo?”

 

The voice came from Nick who had separated himself from the group to examine some photos. The one that he was holding documented a tattoo situated a bit lower than the panda’s armpit. The tattoo was a diamond shape black figure with a circle inside.

 

“We searched for it in the database to see if it matched to any gang sign but nothing came out.”

 

“We also went to every nearby tattoo parlor but none of them want to talk with cops.” Followed Porkins.

 

“I know a friend who is a tattoo artist. He may not be in the same area of town but at least I could show him the picture, maybe he can recognize who is the artist or at least tell me what it means.”

 

“Thats a great idea. Me and Nick will go see his friend while you two continue looking in the database.”

 

“Goodluck. I don’t have much hope for this case anymore.” Said the raccoon as he went back on his computer visibly bored and annoyed.

 

Judy and Nick walked out of the office side by side. They advised Clawhauser they were going out and taking a SUV. Then they headed for the garage.

 

“So where is this friend of yours?”

 

“He works not far away from where I live, I’ll drive there.”

 

Judy had wondered for a long time now what the place Nick lived in might look like. She didn’t want it to be known but she was quite excited.

 

“So where were we?” Asked Nick interrupting her thoughts.

 

“What?”

 

“Ah common carrots have you already forgotten or are you simply too afraid and want to back down?”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“The bet.”

 

“Oh I am all in, the Snows will beat the shit out off the boogies.”

 

“Yhea in your dreams. So what do you propose as reward for the winner. Aka me.”

 

“Take that grin off your face you sly fox. You have no chance to win.”

 

“Is that so? Then you won’t have a problem with high stakes.”

 

“Listen, you have the choice between losing a little or losing a lot, you decide.”

 

“A lot. So do you have something in mind?”

 

“No not yet.”

 

“Well we still have about half an hour drive to until we get there so you have time to think about it.”

 

“And you do you have an idea?”

 

“Humm let’s see…”

 

Nick thought about it for a long time. He didn’t really need or want a thing in particular, he knew that Judy didn’t have much either anyway. Therefore, if he was going to get something out of her it would be an action, something that she wouldn’t do if it wasn’t for a lost bet.

 

“If I win, you will have to dress up as a fox and be my little fox for one day.”

 

“What do you mean be ‘your’ fox?”

 

“You’ll have to do everything I say.”

 

“Is that how it is? Fine then! WHEN I win you will have to… humm…”

 

“Want more time to think it through carrots?”

 

“Shut up and yes please.”

 

“Alright, just don’t be too slow we wouldn’t want the game to be over before you make a choice. Dumb bunny.”

 

“Dumb fox.”

 

They both laugh at their nickname and continued their travel in a relative silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence taugh. It was more of a comfortable one, Nick was smiling to himself at the prospect of seeing his partner dressed up and being “his little fox”. On her side, Judy was busy trying to come up with a way to get at Nick. It wasn’t every day she had the option to make him do what she wanted and she needed to be sure she would get the most out of it. But unfortunately inspiration did not come to here then and before long they had arrived in the street where the tattoo parlor was.

 

“Is this the street you live in?”

 

Judy was surprised at the level of apparent poverty. She knew Nick had a hard life as a con artist trying to survive every day off of shady deals and tricking people. But seeing this now like that made her feel sad for him and she realized how lucky she was to be born in a respected family in bunny’s burrow.

 

“No not the exact same street but a similar one only two blocks away. There we are, this is the place.”

 

Across the street stood a very dirty building that made judy doubt the sanitation requirement for this kind of establishment were met.

 

“So you’re coming or are you just going to stare?”

 

Nick was already outside looking at her through his sunglasses. When they entered the shop it seemed to be empty. No one was at the front desk and they couldn’t hear any sound from the back store. Nick screamed.

 

“Dave are you there?”

 

“Nick! Nick is that you?”

 

Sounds could now be heard from the back store coming to the front of the shop.

 

“Have you finally changed your mind and decided to get a ta…”

 

The fat fox stopped in his track when he saw Nick wearing his ZPD uniform. He looked a bit older than his law enforcement homologue and time had clearly not been on his side. He looked in poor health, he was fat and covered with tattoos.

 

“You’re…”

 

Nick took of his glasses and smiled, finding obviously funny the reaction of his old friend.

 

“Suprise! Long time no see Dave!”

 

“You’re a cop?”

 

“Yep.”

 

The expression of surprise on the face of the fox called Dave quickly changed to one of worry. Seeing this Nick chuckled to himself and reassured his friend.

 

“Don’t worry I wasn’t some kind of undercover cop or anything. I just graduated from police academy a few months ago.”

 

“Why are you here?” The answer came quickly and quit dryly, it was obvious that Dave didn’t fully trust police officers even if one of them used to be his friend.

 

“Dave calm down it’s me, the same old Nick only wearing different clothes.”

 

“And a badge!” retorted the fat fox.

 

“Sigh. We are looking into a murder case and our victim had a strange tattoo under his left armpit. I thought you could take a look at it and tell us what it means or if you know from which artist it is.”

 

“No can do.”

 

“What? Why not?”

 

“Are you kidding me Nick? You know what my clientele is like. Most of them don’t really get along too well with the cops let’s say and you, you come in here in police uniform. What do you think they are going to say if someone finds out I have been talking to the cops?”

 

“You can just say the big bad copers were harassing you and you told them to go screw themselves. Common buddy it’s me!”

 

“And what about her, I don’t know her.”

 

Dave looked at Judy, acknowledging her existence for the first time since they entered the shop.

 

“Ha yes, I didn’t do the presentation. Judy, this is Dave an old friend of mine and associate at times. Dave, this is Judy my partner and trustworthy friend.”

 

“Hi.” Said timidly Judy.

 

“Mmgh! I am sorry Nick but I really can’t help you.”

 

Dave was turning his back and prepared to leave the front of the shop when Nick called him.

 

“Wait! Dave do you remember… the thing?”

 

Dave stopped in his track and turned to face them. He looked quite annoyed with the whole situation.

 

“Yes I remember the thing.”

 

“So will you help us?”

 

“Fine I will talk, but only to you.”

 

“No every thing you can say to me, you can say to her. She is trustworthy I promise you.”

 

Dave looked at her for a while like he was silently judging her.

 

“If I help you we are equal.”

 

“Promise.”

 

“Sigh. Okay but we’ll talk in the back store I don’t want anyone passing by seeing us talk.”

 

Dave went to his front door, locked it and turned the sign that said open so that it could display closed. Then he went with the two officers in the back store.

 

“Okay, show me what you got.”

 

Nick handed him the picture.

 

“It was under a panda’s left armpit. Do you know who made it?”

 

“No the symbol is to simple, anyone with a calque can make that.”

 

“Then do you know what it means?”

 

“I have never seen this symbol before. I don’t think it means anything really it might just be… Wait no that doesn’t make sense.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Well, the symbol doesn’t represent anything that I know off, but it is too simple to be a meaningless drawing. Your panda got this tattoo for a reason, it has a story behind it but…”

 

“But… What?” Asked Judy now getting impatient.

 

“Normally if a simple tattoo like that has no apparent meaning I would suggest it’s a sign. Probably some sort of gang sign/identification.”

 

“But the guys at the office already looked into that. There is no matching gang sign anywhere in the ZPD database.” Added Judy.

 

“That’s the problem, the location. Normally you would wear a gang sign in a place other people can see. This way your fellow gang members can identify you as a brother easily. It also acts as a deterrent. People are less likely to attack you if they know you belong in a gang. But your panda has his tattoo under his armpit where it is almost impossible to see.”

 

“So what are you suggesting?” Said Nick. He already had an idea of where this was going.

 

“Well my best guess is that the gang to which your victim was a part of are keen on keeping a low profile. They obviously don’t want people to know their existence.”

 

“Dave are you saying you believe this is some kind of secret society nonsense?”

 

“Secret society might be a bit over dramatic. But I am saying that you are dealing with a group of people that want to keep a low profile. So yeah basically.”

 

“Okay.” Said Nick. “Can you tell us anything more?”

 

“I’m sorry, this is the best I can do.”

 

“Fine, thanks for helping us.”

 

“Yeah, just don’t ever walk in here wearing police uniform ever again.”

 

The cop duo went for the exit when they got called out.

 

“Oh and Nick! I will still give you that tattoo if you ever change your mind.”

 

“Not going to happen. Bye Dave.”

 

“So…” Judy asked as they were heading for the police SUV. “How do you know Dave?”

 

“He and I were con partners way back when. He saved up the money and bought this tattoo parlor to get a legit job. I much preferred the hustling life.”

 

It made Judy laugh internally. She remembered the Nick he was when they first met. It got here wondering, what made him want to have a legit job this time taugh? Her thoughts were interrupted when Nick stepped in a dirty puddle.

 

“No! Damn it my shoes! They are ruined now.”

 

This made the wheels inside her head turn and she was struck with an idea as they entered the police car.

 

“I KNOW!”

 

“What, you got an idea for the case?”

 

“No, for the bet.”

 

Nick laughed.

 

“Okay spit it out.”

 

“So WHEN I do win, you’ll have to abstain washing for a week.”

 

Nick was taken aback by her proposal. He didn’t expect her to say that nor did he knew why would she even want that.

 

“Fine, you got yourself a deal.”

 

They shook paws and drove off to the police station. Judy knew that the simple fact of him not washing wouldn’t give her much fun directly. However, she also knew that after a few days it would drive Nick mad. He was always making sure he was perfectly clean and she was sure that he would not be able to stand feeling dirty. That was what she was waiting for. Watching him go nuts about hygiene would probably be the funniest thing she ever saw.

 

“So what was the ‘thing’ you were talking about.”

 

“When Dave and I were hustling on the streets I may or may not have saved his sorry ass from a gang beatdown. He owed me one and I never asked for anything from him until now.”

 

The arrived at the police station with less information than they would have hoped, but at least they had something. When they entered the investigation office both Coon and Porkins looked up from their computer rapidly. They were eager for any kind of change in the case that became cold for a week now. Judy and Nick began to tell them what they learned. The information was disappointing even though it was surprising. Knowing  that the victim was part of a gang they couldn’t trace didn’t really help further the case.

 

“Well, I think we are going to have to close this one.” Said Coon. “thanks again for the help guys. At least you made it a little bit less boring.”

 

“We are going to have to start filling the paperworks Coon.”

 

“Yeah it’s going to be a long night.”

  


**…**

  


“Attention all ZPD officers in the area of Ivy avenue.” Came the voice of Clawhauser over the dispatch radio. “There has been sighting of trespassing in an abandoned factory.”

 

“Central this is officer Honey and Stripe, we are in the area.” Said the bear.

 

“Roger Honey and Stripe, please investigate the following location.”

 

The bear and the zebra drove their police patrol car to the abandoned factory. It was still dark outside but if you looked closely to the horizon you could see the first dim lights of the rising sun. Their night shift was soon going to be over and they could go home. First taugh they had to handle what was probably drunk teenagers trespassing. Hopefully they wouldn’t put too much of a resistance and would be able to go with a simple warning. Otherwise they would have to be escorted to the station and that meant more paperwork for them before leaving.

 

It was so dark when they entered the building they had to guide themselves with their flashlights.

 

“Hey Honey, you see anything?”

 

“No, just some dust and a pile of… hold on a second.”

 

The bear went closer to what seemed to be a random pile on the floor. When he was close enough to fully see what it was he took a few step back.

 

“Shit! Stripe call central NOW!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, cliffhanger! What did those two totally random police characters found? Will our favorite cop duo find who is the murderer? Will the Snows or the Boogies win the game. And more importantly will the writer be able to find more lazy animal pun names? Find out next time. (Not really, the next chapter won’t answer all these questions. For that you will have to read even more. Muhahahaha!)


	2. a murder for two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this took me a long time considering that I have been at it almost non-stop. The following chapters may be smaller than the last two but hopefully they will take me less time to write. Well here it is, enjoy and leave a comment if you want (but you probably don’t give a shit let’s be honest) telling me how much you love and worship me. But more seriously I do welcome comment both positive and negative, as long as they are constructive I will try to do as you propose.  
> Ps: this story was first posted to fanfiction.net, this is why ch2 came quickly after ch1. But the story is up to date now and will be updated at the same time as fanfiction.net

Beep! Beep! Beep! Bee… Stump!

 

The clock didn’t have the time to ring a fourth time before the bunny silenced it by slamming her paw on it with might and righteous justice. Judy wasn’t the type of bunny whom you needed to ask twice to get up in the morning. Growing up on a farm had it’s advantages sometimes.

 

“Good Morning Zootopia!”

 

She whispered the greeting as not to wake up her neighbours. The walls were thin and she did not care to be yelled at, at 5:30 in the morning.

 

After a quick morning routine hastily made, Judy was ready to go to work. When she moved in she made sure that she lived in the closest apartment to the police station she could afford. The proximity to her work place was the only reason she was able to support living in this hole. Since she didn’t own a car, she ran to the precinct everyday. That way she had no need for a ZTA card and she could keep up her shape she had gained from her days at the academy.

 

The run was like most day up until the point where she came across a blocked road. Sometimes it surprised her how the city’s worker could create a massive construction site over one night, and yet take weeks to finish the work. It was no big deal really but she had to take another route which made her arrived later than expected at the station. When she arrived, she headed straight to the female locker-room and took a quick shower. Sadly due to her having to take a longer route she didn't have the time to properly dry her fur.

 

This resulted in her being still wet when she walked in the bullpen. It wasn’t to the point where she was dripping, but it was still enough for her clothes to soak a small part of the humidity. Her ears, while still up, were slightly bended due to the additional weight of the soaked fur. On many parts of her body stood little agglomeration of hairs.

 

When Nick saw her walked in he was pleasantly surprised. He honestly thought that she still looked good her fur full of water. He had to repress a strange feeling that he could not tell exactly it’s origin.

 

“Well isn’t this a cute little wet bunny that we have here.”

 

“What have I told you about the c word.” She said while still smiling.

 

“You know you like it when I call you cute. Don't try to hide it.”

 

She actually did like it. However no force in this world would have made her admit it. But Nick didn’t need for her to say it. He already knew from the way her body reacted. Her nose , leg and ears all twitching at his words. No he did not need any more signs than those he already had. Nick turned his head, smiling at the effect he had on her, to the door on the other side of which stood a large angry mammal.

 

“ATTENTION!”

 

The crowd of police officer started cheering as usual when their superior entered the room.

 

“Alright shut up. SHUT UP for god sake.”

 

The crowd went silent.

 

“We don't have time for announcement today so screw those involved. Early this morning, officer Honey and Stripe discovered a murder victim while on patrol.”

 

Whispers crossed the room as the officers took in the information.

 

“We have a mammalicide on our hands so today is going to be a big day for everyone.”

 

The chief took a pause while he went through the assignments files for the day.

 

“Officer Mc.Horn, Rhinowits, Wolfard, Hopps and Wilde. You guys are going to secure the crime scene. Nobody gets close and if Coon and Porkins need anything, you comply. Sniggens, Snarlow, Tunkerbee you go on patrol and search the area. If the killer got rid of anything in the proximity I want it found. Finally Office Grizzoly, Fangmeyer and Delgardo you get ready to make search warrant on the victims frequently visited location. Go see Coon he will give you the information you need. Dismissed.”

 

The officer all stood up and went to the garage to get in their respective ZPD SUV. Not long after that, they were all driving in a convoy with the sirens on. Bogo was right this was going to be a long day and they all knew that.

 

“Hopefully the guys will have an easier time cracking this case than the last one.” Said Nick to the driving bunny next to him.

 

“Yeah it’s always demoralizing to see a case go in the unsolved pile.”

 

The Drive was a quick one, this case being the priority and all. When they arrived at the abandoned factory the officers standing guard changed place with those already there from the night shift. Judy and Nick were positioned on the inside while the rest took their place on the outside perimeter.

 

In the middle of the factory laying on the dusty floor was the body of a large grey wolf in a ripped business suit covered with bruises that indicated a fight. Surrounding the body were a team of technicians, illuminated by large spotlights, photographing the corpse to document it. On the other side of the room, were Coon and Porkins. They were talking with two officers, a bear and a zebra, that looked extremely sleep deprived. Judy and Nick were only to watch not intervene, this time they were not part of the case. Their job right now was to ensure the integrity and privacy of the crime scene. Once they were finished with the two officers, the investigators told them to go home and rest. One of the technicians, probably the one in charge, spoke to them.

 

“Okay we’re done, you can inspect the body.”

 

The other technicians began to pack their equipment. At the same time the two investigators headed towards the dead mammal. On the way there they handed their cup of coffee to one of the intern technicians that was leaving. The young sheep glared at them obviously confused and a bit insulted to be treated as a cup holder.

 

“Hey you know the rules… No liquid this close to the body.” Said Coon.

 

The intern just shrugged and walked away obviously defeated by their logic.

 

“It would be nice for once if a murder could happen in the daytime instead of the first hours of the day.”

 

“Yhea, strange.” Replied Porkins. “It’s like there was something about darkness and the lack of people that appealed to murderers.”

 

“I’m just saying, I am about to ask Bogo to include coffee as business expense.”

 

“I doubt that's a discussion you want to have with him.”

 

“So what do we have here?”

 

The two investigators opened up the front of their leather shoulder holster to allow them to bend down.

 

“Multiple claw marks all over the body. I’ll have the pathologist confirm they were the cause of death.” Said the the pig.

 

“If our friend here was in a fight we might find his killer’s DNA under his claw.”

 

Coon lifted the victim’s arm to check his claw but then stopped in his track.

 

“Holy shit!”

 

“What? What is it?”

 

“Porkins you have to see this!”

 

The pig went to the other side of the wolf to join his friend.

 

“My god!”

 

Coon popped up his head and looked around the room as if he was searching for something in a panick. When he saw that Judy and Nick were among the cops present he called them out.

 

“Hopps, Wilde, you got to see this!”

 

“What is it Coon, if you can’t stand the sight of blood maybe this isn’t the best profession for you.”

 

“This isn’t the time for jokes Wilde just get your fat ass over here.”

 

Judy snickered at the raccoon’s remark just enough so that Nick could hear her. However all desire to make jokes quickly faded away when she saw what the two investigators were so shocked about. A feeling of dizziness took over her as well as feeling light headed.

 

“Looks like the case isn’t dead after all.” Said Coon.

 

Right there, under the wolf’s left armpit there was a tattoo visible through the ripped suit. A black diamond with a circle inside.

 

Only Nick was able to answer.

 

“Shit!”

The four cops were immobile for a while in complete silence still trying to fully grasp the meaning of this.

 

“We are working with a serial killer.” Said the bunny.

 

“I’ll bet you that those claw marks will have the exact same dimensions has the one on poor old panda Po.” Coon added.

 

It was Nick’s turn to interject.

 

“So who is this guy anyway we haven't been filled in on what you know about this case.”

 

“His name is, or at least was, James L. McArfur. He worked for the ZMB as a manager / high level accountant or something like that.”

 

The ZMB (zootopia mammal bank) was the largest bank in zootopia. This meant that if the victim was one of their managers he must have been living with a high income.

 

“No remaining family, a few friends, married to his job really.” Coon reached down into the victim's pocket and pulled out a wallet. He opened it and proceeded to a search. “Again, everything is there cards, money et ceteras.”

 

“Wait! So hold on…” Porkins said. “Our killer is going around, targeting people of some weird mysterious gang/society because of… What exactly? A vendetta?”

 

“Well it sure looks like it. It also looks like the culprit used the same modus operandi. There is no blood that show up under the blacklight and I am ready to bet you what you want there has not been one hair shed.”

 

“Thanks but i’ll pass on the bet. Me and carrots over here already have one going on.”

 

Judy punched Nick in the arm which only resulted in him smiling even more. She wanted the bet to be a private thing but it was already too late, Coon had jumped on the occasion.

 

“What is it about?”

 

“The game this weekend.” Said still grinning Nick.

 

“Oh well thats doll, the boogies don't stand a chance against the snows.”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Replied Porkins. “The boogies are clearly the best of the two teams.”

 

“You know Porkins this is the reason why I am technically in charge.”

 

“Yhea yhea whatever you say.”

 

“Okay girls, can we go back to business now.” Said the irritated bunny.

 

“Yeah sure. So we are going to finish examining everything here, then we’ll pack the body and anything we find so the egg heads in the lab can work their magic. After that you two can go and ask questions around his office. Meanwhile me and Porkins are going to check out his apartment.”

 

“As the boss says…” Said the pig.

 

“Shut up Porkins.”

 

Finishing examining the crime scene took a few more hours. They didn’t find anything more and they didn’t expect to, but the protocols were clear they had to make sure  they didn’t left anything behind. Once that was donne the technicians finished packing any left equipment and the ZPD closed the area to make sure no curious mammal would get in. Coon and Porkins had called Bogo earlier to inform him about their findings. If they were in fact dealing with a serial killer that meant that their could be more murders. This made solving this case the number one priority at the ZPD and so Nick and Judy didn’t have to report in. They were actually heading straight for the victim's workplace with the permission of the chief. McArfur was working in the bank’s hq on whale-street. Their office was in one of the largest tower that loomed over the landscape of Zootopia. When they entered the large glass tower they were greeted by a young antelope that occupied the reception desk.

 

“Hi how can I help you?”

 

The desk in itself was quite high. It needed to be able to accustom animals of multiple height and Nick and Judy were considered part of the smaller animals. Thus the desk was higher than them and the antelope that was seated behind it was looking down upon them. To her it must have been funny to see these two small mammals looking like police officers. However she did not let any of this show on her face. Instead she just kept smiling as she was probably asked and paid to do.

 

They both showed their badges and Judy spoke.

 

“Hi we would like to talk about one of your employee. To whom should we speak for that?”

 

“That would depend upon which employee.”

 

“His name is James L. McArfur.” Said Nick.

 

“That would be the CEO himself Mr.Clawson, I’ll see if he can see you.”

 

The receptionist dialed a number and picked up her phone.

 

“Yes sir, there is two ZPD officers in the hall that wish to speak to you... Yes I know sir, I am sorry... Hmm... They say it’s about Mr.McArfur… Yes I’ll tell them.”

 

The last pause was longer than the other ones. As if the mention of the wolf’s name had a particular effect on the CEO’s decision.

 

She hanged the phone and turned to them.

 

“Mr.Clawson is on his way, he will meet you shortly.”

 

Bearly 30s after she finished her sentence, the doors of an elevator opened and out came a wolverine. Despite the fact that Wolverines and foxes were off relatively the same height, this one towered over Nick.

 

“Good day officers, I am Mr.Clawson, what can I do for you?”

 

“Hi we would like to talk to you about James L. McArfur…” Judy didn’t have the time to finish her sentence she was cut by the CEO.

 

“He’s dead to me. First he slacks on the job, then he doesn’t show up and now he brings police to our office. If you see him you can tell him he's fired and I don’t ever want to see his sorry ass here again!”

 

“Heu… Sir..” Judy started but it was Nick that finished.

 

“Sir, McArfur is actually dead. ZPD found his body early this morning. We think he was murdered.”

 

The businessman was shocked.

 

“Murd…. Murdered?”

 

He looked around him to make sure no one heard the conversation.

 

“Come with me, we’ll talk in my office.”

 

The three mammals took the elevator from which the wolverine had first appeared. When they got in Nick and Judy remarked that there was only two button in the elevator. Up and down. Noticing their confusion the CEO explained.

 

“This is my personal elevator. It goes between my office and the lobby.”

 

When the doors of the elevator opened, they could see the office in question. It was an extremely luxurious one on the top floor of the tower. Behind the imposing wooden desk was a large glass panorama that offered an incredible view of the city. The office was clearly too large for what it truly needed. The wealthy predator went to a small bar on the right side of the room which was overlooked by a large painting of himself simply labeled in golden letters “Logan S. Clawson”

 

“Can I serve you anything officers?”

 

“No not on the job.”

 

“Of course.” The wolverine poured himself a glass of scotch. “ Please take a seat.”

 

There were many chairs of different sizes for different animals on the far left but the two chairs that stood facing the desk by default were already of the right size. Mr.Clawson took a seat in front of them as he took a sip of his drink.

 

“Sir we would like to ask you a few questions about Mc.Arfur.”

 

“Please go ahead, I would love to help as much as I could.” Said the wolverine with a fake smile.

 

“When we first met, you talked about Mr.Arfur not coming in or slacking at work. Did he have any strange behavior of the sort lately compared to how he was usually.”

 

“Yes for sure. For a few weeks now he was distracted at work. Sometimes he arrived late always exhausted. This morning when he didn’t come in I assumed that he had overslept again. When I confronted him about his behaviour, he told me it was because his mother was extremely sick so I dared not ask further.”

 

Nick and Judy both knew that this could not have been the case. Coon and Porkins told them earlier that the wolf had no living family members anymore.

 

“When did he first start to adopt those comportement?” asked Nick.

 

“About five weeks ago. The only reason I let him get away with it for so long is because he was one of my best employee. It had been 32 years since he first started to work for this company. Although those year he always had been so hard working and he was climbing up the ladder fast for his age.”

 

“Five weeks, that is just before Po’s death.” Said the bunny cop.

 

“I am sorry what did yous say?”

 

“No nothing. Mr.Clawson did you know if James was part of some kind of organisation other than this company or if he was part of some group outside of work?”

 

“Not that I know off, but then again I didn’t really know him on a personal level.”

 

“Did he have any friends or colleague that were closer to him that you know off?”

 

“Hum yhea I believe there was some guys on his floor he talked to.”

 

“May we speak to is colleagues?”

 

The CEO stop for a second, unsure of what to say.

 

“Hum.. Yes I guess you could. He was on the 40th floor, You shouldn’t have any problem going there since it’s an average sized floor. You can take the second elevator, It’s linked to all the floors. I will call Arfur’s secretary. He was the manager of this floor she will show you to his office and answer any questions you have.”

 

They did just that, and when the doors to the elevator closed, Nick spoke up.

 

“This guy is a fraud.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’ve seen the type of guy before on the street. He is all heart and good intention on the outside, wanting to help the good police officers and all. But you saw how he talked of McArfur when we first met him. And you also saw when he hesitated before allowing us to talk to his colleagues. The reality is that this guy doesn't give a shit about his employees. If we just left, he wouldn’t have told anybody about McArfur just because he doesn’t want people to do something else than their jobs like if they were drones. His hospitality is just a lie so we think he still has a soul. I saw plenty of this type of guy, he’s just in another playing field.”

 

“And you know all that how?”

 

Nick just shrugged with a smile while looking at her.

 

“I did trick you into buying a jumbo pop for me didn’t I.”

 

Judy remembered with a smile the first time they met. When she realized how he fooled her she was so mad. She would have never thought that this fox would become her partner and closest friend. At that moment the doors of the elephant sized elevator made to accommodate all species, opened to a floor clearly not made for elephant. The building had many floors and all were made to fit a specific bracket of animal size. This one being for wolfs and similarly big animals. Nick and judy were smaller than most of the animals and their furniture here but not so much for it to be an inconvenience. A female wolf about the same age as the victim came to meet them. She handed down her paw at the small officers in front of her with a smile.

 

“Hi, you must be the officer Mr.Pawson told me about what can I do for you?”

 

“Hi could you please show us the way to Mr.Arfur’s office?” Asked Judy while shaking her paw.

 

“Of course please follow me.”

 

The young wolf was still smiling probably as she was asked to. However it was apparent that she was uncomfortable, even worried.

 

“May I ask a question officers?”

 

“Please go ahead.” Said Nick. He was kind of surprised but at the same time not, that people here needed permission to ask questions. It was obvious that the big heads of the company did not like too many questions.

 

“Why is James not here? Why are you here?”

 

The use of his first name didn’t go unnoticed. Announcing the death of someone to their family, friends or loved ones was never an easy task. Nick and Judy were lucky that they almost never had to be the ones who did it. However it did happen in the past. Judy remembered her first time doing this. She was accompanied by an older officer who had done it many times before to make sure she wouldn’t crack. At first she didn’t understand why he was there, after all even if it was a sad thing to do it wasn’t a member of her own family that died. She remembered standing in front of the house’s door at night. She remembered it opening to reveal a mother armadillo. She remembered opening her mouth trying to tell her that her son had been killed in an accident by a drunk driver, but she was unable to utter a single word. And even without being able to speak the mother still had collapsed in tears. The older officer had pushed Judy, with a sad expression, to say the dreaded words so her job could be officially done and the announcement acknowledge. Now she was faced with the same situation. With her head down she quietly said.

 

“Mr.Arfur was found dead this morning by ZPD officers… We suspect foul play.”

 

The mouth of the female wolf opened but nothing came out apart from a low yelp. Her face was twitching like if she was a machine not sure how to respond to new information.

 

“We are sincerely sorry.” Said Nick.

 

“Tha… Thank you. His office is just there in… in the corner. I… I will be in the one just next to it if you need anything.”

 

The female wolf went on her way holding down sobs.

 

Mc.Arfur’s office was in one of the corner of the floor. Being the manager meant that he had a bigger office and more importantly one closed in a glass room. Although being able to see through the walls nobody could hear Judy and Nick if they talked inside the office. Once Nick closed the door he turned to Judy.

 

“She liked him. And by like I mean really like you know.”

 

“Yhea I know.”

 

“Do you want to talk to her while I search here. You might be able to get extra information on him if she was in a personal relationship.”

 

“Yhea a girl to girl talk might be best for this kind of situation.”

 

“I’ll call you if I find anything.”

 

Judy walked out of the glass room and headed to where the secretary told them she would be. On her way there she could hear sobs that no doubt came from the young wolf. Not wanting to get the drop on her and making her feel humiliated, Judy faked being lost in the office jungle.

 

“Hi hum… Miss are you there?”

 

“Over here officer what can I do?”

 

Judy walked to the office where the wolf was sitting. She could clearly tell that she was crying just moment before but made no move to make it known she understood that.

 

“Hi is it okay if I ask you a few questions?”

 

“Yes of course! Wh… What would you like to know?”

 

“Mr.Pawson told us that Mc.Arfur might have had some friends on this floor, is that true?”

 

“Tha… That would be an understatement. Everybody here liked him. He was a great boss. But of course, that was unimportant to the higher ups.”

 

“And what about you? What was your relation with him?”

 

The secretary twitched obviously uncomfortable. But it seemed that in the end something clicked in her mind and she relaxed.

 

“Is… Is it that obvious? I liked him a lot, hell I even think I was in love but… He had no clue about it. To him I was just a colleague and a friend.”

 

She started sobbing even harder.

 

“I… I think that… I think that it was because I never acted on… on it.”

 

Nick was now alone in the office. At its center was the desk and computer that the late manager was using. The desk was the first thing that nick looked trough since the computer was lock and it would take an ip guy to open it. Most of what was on it were files of the company. A quick look over was sufficient to tell that those were not of any interest. He tried to open up a drawer but it just wouldn’t bulge. He tried harder now pulling with all his might.

 

“Open you… damn it!”

 

Nick looked around the room as if he was searching for the answer on one of these inspirational cat posters. Making sure that nobody was looking at him through the glass walls, Nick took out his police baton and started bashing the drawer hoping no one would see him and that the office was sufficiently sound proofed. The wood gave away with a sudden crack. Nick used the hole to force open the rest of the mysterious container. In it was a small handbook and a pen. A quick look through revealed that it was full of notes, underlined and crossed serie of numbers et ceteras.

 

This seemed weird to nick since if Mc.Arfur just wanted to take notes, he could have done it on his computer. Of course it was sometimes more convenient to scramble a few things on paper when you were talking to someone on the phone. However those were the kind of notes you wrote on the back of the first paper you found, not in a proper note book that, for some reason, you kept in a lock drawer. They would have the time to analyze what’s in it later, for now he needed to continue searching.

 

“Do you know if Mr.Arfur had any circle of friends outside of work?” Asked Judy.

 

“N… No he couldn’t have. He is… was… married to his job you could say. I… I once asked him if… if he wanted to do anything after work, but… he… he was alway on the job even at home.”

 

“Thank you, take your time I am going to ask question to other people if that's okay. Take care of yourself.” Judy spoke as if she was speaking to a sick child.

 

“O… Officer!” Called out the young wolf as Judy was about to leave her office.

 

“Life is… is short so if you like someone don’t… don’t waste your time like I did. Will… Will you do that for me please?”

 

“Of course.”

 

For some reason Judy couldn’t put her paw on, this made her feel weird, kind of… sad. She just shrugged it of as being something odd with the carrots she ate this morning.

 

Nick had put the handbook in an evidence bag. He was now rummaging through the recycling bin of the office. Most of the papers were boring and made Nick thank destiny he never had a boring job like an office one. One thing that was strange though was the repeated appearance of receipts from a high price classy bar that was on the rooftop of a nearby building. At first Nick had just thought that the wolf had high taste in the matter of drinks but he began to be suspicious. He decided to collect the receipt because he thought it might be worth a look later.

 

Judy continued to go around the office asking questions. She got the same story every time. Mc.Arfur was a great boss and everybody liked him. A sheep on the floor even told her that when he first got the job out of desperation, he was dead afraid of wolf. He thought that they were stereotypical jerks bullying smaller preys around. But with time, he learned to like him and even patronize him. Now he had a much more open mind to all species. However, no one knew him outside of work. Every time they would try to have a night out with the rest of their colleagues or friends he would alway deny saying he had work to do. Some thought it was because he was an introvert, other because he wanted to keep the relation with his colleagues professional.

 

Both of the cops finished doing their part of their job and got back to their police car. They talked a bit about what they had found but none of it made any sense. The day had been a long one and they could go over what they found tomorow with Coon and Porkins. Right now they were exhausted and just wanted to go home.

 

**…**

 

The pig and the raccoon were walking down the corridor of the victim’s apartment complex which was way more luxurious the the ones they could afford with their meek police salary.

 

“So, I wanted to know…” Asked Porkins. “What’s your opinion on interspecies relationships?”

 

Although not illegal anymore like it used to be, interspecies relationship were still a taboo subject and many people were still firmly against it.

 

“I am not interested if that's what you want to know.”

 

“Haha very funny! But seriously what do you think?”

 

“Frankly Porkins I don’t give a damn. Live and let live you know.”

 

“Good, now that this is out of the way… How long?”

 

“How long what?”

 

“How long before they become a thing?”

 

“Who? Hopps and Wilde?”

 

“Yeah exactly!”

 

“I don't know. They clearly want each other but I don't think they have realised what they feel themselves.”

 

“Sounds about right. I say that inside of a month they’ll be all up on each other.”

 

“Seems likely.” Added Coons.

 

The duo stopped in front of the apartment's door. Something was wrong, the door was slightly opened and the lock seemed to have been busted. They both looked at each other with a knowing look before pulling out their weapons. Coon knocked on the door pushing it open even more.

 

“ZPD is someone here?”

 

Nothing came back.

 

They didn’t have an arrest order but simply a search warrant, so they couldn’t just bust in gun blazing screaming on top of their lungs. Instead Coon gave the signal and they entered the room, looking past corners and behind furniture like there training had taught them to.

 

“Clear!”

 

Coon and porkins separated themselves. Porkins went into the bedroom on the left of the living room they were presently in, while Coon went to the right in the bathroom.

 

“Clear!” Shouted the raccoon.

 

Silence

 

“Porkins?” This time in a whisper.

 

Still nothing

 

“Porkins?!” This time a little louder.

 

“Clear!” Came the voice from the other side of the apartment.

 

Relieved the investigator put away his weapon while he made his way over to his friend.

 

“Well what took you so looooong…”

 

The last syllables were dropped and stretched as he came to a stop when he entered the bedroom.

 

“What the heel?”

 

In front of him was a web of photos all connected by a stream of red tape. Under this fresque which both investigators were now admiring, stood a desk with sheets all over the place. Someone had clearly raided this place looking for something and they were ready to bet they found it.

 

“What is this all for?”

 

Porkins who hadn’t spoken yet saw a picture in the corner if his eye which seemed to have something familiar on it. When he got a closer look his heart fell in his chest as he took a step back.

 

“HOLY SHIT IS THAT…?”

 

Coon saw what his partner was talking about and had almost a heart attack.

 

“Wait… Do you think that…? My god…”

 

A moment of silence washed over the officers as they didn’t know what to say.

 

“Porkins?”

 

“Yhea?”

 

“We need to go back to Po’s place. I think we missed something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sure do love my cliffhangers don't I? This chapter is a lot of questions and few answers. But fret not my dear child, the next one should answer a few of them and create new leads. But until then, sleep well and have nice dreams because fluff is coming. (Pam pa pa-pa-pam pam pa pa-pa-pam pam in the rhythm of game of thrones intro)


	3. Elementary my dear Wilde

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go my pretties, chapter 3. I was thinking there wasn’t enough fluff going on between our two favorite characters so I augmented it a bit. It still isn’t a “fluff chapter” tought, thats the next one. There is some thoughts narration in the chapter, they are written in bold. Without further ado here you go enjoy!

“Blablabla bla blabla bla…”

 

Nick was walking down the precinct’s corridor a coffee cup in his paw and a blabbing rabbit by his side. He was way too tired to pay any real attention to what she was saying at this time of the day. Last night had been a short one, Nick had been unable to find sleep. Every time he would come close, a detail of the case seemed to pop out wanting his attention. Of course this had lead nowhere. This case made no sense whatsoever.

 

“Hellooo! Earth to Nick are you there?”

 

With a grunt he turned his head to the little ball of fur and energy that walked next to him. With his eyes still weighted down by the lack of sleep he asked her with the most interested look he could manage, which was not much:

 

“Mmh what?”

 

The bunny looked offended by his answer. She stopped in her track glared at him. Her foot started tapping as she put her paw on the sides of her waist. Her ears were perked up and her nose was twitching.

 

“You weren’t listening were you.”

 

“Whaaaaat! Me? Of course I was carrots, what kind of friend do you think I am?” He replied with a large grin before taking a sip of his coffee.

 

“Fine then. What was the name of the guy I went on a date with last night?”

 

Nick’s heart stopped beating for a moment as his stomach just dropped. His coffee wasn’t welcome in his mouth any more and so he spat it out on the floor.

 

“WAIT YOU HAD A DATE!?”

 

Judy looked way too satisfied with herself. She was smiling and Nick could see something shining in her amethyst eyes. He knew that he had walked straight into the trap.

 

“If you were listening you would know that that's not true.”

 

“Sly bunny.”

 

“Dumb fox.”

 

Well that was a relief he thought.

 

Wait why is this a relief?

 

He didn’t have the time to ponder at it any longer, the little ball of fur all but dragged him through the corridor.

 

“Common we don’t have all day, we have bad guys to catch.”

 

Bogo had asked them to continue working as investigators on this case. Normally he would have recalled them as soon as anything new came up, but the guys had told him that they found their help useful and since this was a high priority case…

 

When they entered the office they could see both Coon and Porkins slouched over their desk. Nick guessed that they too had a bad night sleep. The three guys were all exhausted trying to trade sleep time spent trying to figure what the hell was going on for a surplus of caffeine.

 

The bunny on the other hand… The bunny was uncontrollable.

 

“So guys where do we begin?”

 

“Maybe by a nap.” Joked Porkins.

 

It got a laughter from all the three exhausted mammal, but only an annoyed smile from the bunny cop. When Nick and judy came back from the ZMB headquarter, Coon and Porkins were still at Mc.Arfur’s apartment. Which was strange thinking about it since it wasn’t to far apart from his workplace, it should have taken them roughly the same time. Seeing it was late and they were exhausted, Judy and Nick simply wrote a report for the two detectives and went home. Thus they had not the occasion to really discuss their findings and try to make any sense of it.

 

“Sigh. I guess we could start on your side. What did you guys find.” Said Coon.

 

Judy started seeing she was the only one here actually awake.

 

“Well for starters, everyone of his colleagues seemed to like him a lot, apart from his boss who just didn’t seem to care.”

 

“So no office feud or jealous colleagues?”

 

“Not any that I could see. He also didn’t seem to be the kind of wolf to go out and do something other than anything work related.”

 

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense.” Said Nick. “In his recycling bin I found a shit load of receipt from a fancy bar not far from his office. There was one for almost every day for the past two weeks.”

 

Porkins stood up and went to a shelf where a box containing the evidences and the discussion transcript Hopps and Wilde had collected yesterday. He took out a plastic bag from the box, with all the receipts in it. He read one, dropped it and read another and another.

 

“They are all for one drink only.” He said frowning.

 

“Why would he go there only for one drink every night?” Asked Judy.

 

“Maybe he didn't go there for the drinks. He simply didn’t want to be booted out for longing.” Coon said with a perplexed shrug.

 

“Then why for?” Said Nick.

 

The room fell silent. All for mammals were thinking to themselves.

 

**_~That bar is for elites isn’t it? Why would he go there?_ **

 

**_~Everything Mc.Arfur breathed was in relation to his work… So how does this bar come in?_ **

 

**_~They don’t know do they? They can’t know, not this fast?_ **

 

**_~Why was it a relief? WHY WAS IT A RELIEF?_ **

 

“Oh well, we’ll have the time to go around and ask questions later.” Said Coon. “Did you found anything else?”

 

“Well there was this strange notebook in one of his desk’s drawer. It was locked and I had to force it open. What is the weirdest is that it seems to be only containing scribbles and note, but it was still locked.”

 

Coon took the said notebook from the evidence box. When he opened it he looked shock for a moment. That quickly faded away as he adopted a more indifferent expression. He closed the book and tossed it aside as if it was of a total unimportance.

 

“We’ll have a look at it later. Anything else?”

 

“Not really.” Said Judy a bit taken aback by his nonchalance. “A few more details but nothing of major importance. If you want the full of it we did write a report for a reason. And what about you, any luck on your side.”

 

Porkins jumped on the occasion.

 

“This reminds me, the autopsy report came in this morning. Want us to fill you in?”

 

“Hum… Yeah I guess.”

 

The two officers were weirded out by Coon and Porkins’ attitude. However they just shrugged it off to a side effect of the lack of sleep and surplus of caffeine.

 

Porkins started reading the autopsy report.

 

“The time of death was about 1:00am. There is no fur or anything that could allow us to run a DNA scan, under the victim’s claw or in his mouth. The killing blow was delivered in the back of the neck with… Great strength.” Porkins took a pause in the last part to underline how strangely powerful the blow must have been. “There is other stuff on here but they are all technical and none of them really matter.”

 

“Wait, hold on! Where did you said was the killing blow?” Asked Nick.

 

“About here.” Said Coon while pointing the left side of the back of his neck. Nick took a moment to think.

 

“Okay. Carrots would you be kind enough to participate in a demonstration with me?”

 

“Sure what do you want me to do?” Said the shrugging rabbit.

 

“Try to hit me in the same spot on the neck.”

 

“I could do that any day!” She said smiling.

 

But try as she might, every time she tried to circle him to hit the back of his neck, he would simply rotate and face her in a combat stence.

 

“I can’t reach you when you are facing me like that!”

 

“Which means…” Nick added with a large grin proving how satisfied he was of himself.

 

“Which means the killer attacked him from the back!” Exclaimed Porkins.

 

“Now carrots, you that were the top of your class at the academy…” Judy blushed “When would you turn your back to your adversary?”

 

“Never. He might have been running away though.”

 

“Which would explain why we didn’t find the killer's DNA under his claw.” Said Coon in a moment of revelation. “He didn’t fight.”

 

“Not only that.” said Nick “but if the wound was particularly deep in comparison to the others that means he did it using his strong paw…”

 

Judy now understanding, jumped on the band-wagon.

 

“And since the wound was on the left side of his neck that means our killer is left-pawed!”

 

Nick smiled obviously proud of himself.

 

“That represents only 10% of zootopia’s population! We just reduced our suspect pool by 90%”

 

“How the hell do you know that Porkins?” Said Coon.

 

The pig simply shrugged. “I know stuff, it’s what I do.”

 

“Wait something’s not right.” Said Coon. “If the killer got him from behind, why is there marks on the front of the body?”

 

“Yeah?” Added Judy “A hit there would probably be one of if not the first hit the assailant would give. Then how come there is so many claw marks.”

 

Silence fell in the room as they thought of a possible answer.

 

“I think he might just be trying to throw us off. He did move the bodies and took the time to make sure he wouldn’t shed.”

 

Judy had a flash when Coon talked about moving the bodies. She all but screamed.

 

“Wait! When did you say was the estimated time of death Coon?”

 

“Hum… About 1h in the morning. Why?”

 

“And when did central recieved the call telling the someone had broke in?”

 

“Let me check.” Said Porkins

 

He turned to his computer and started typing on his keyboard. After a few second he answered.

 

“They got the call at 1:32.”

 

“Okay so that gave him 32min to move the body to the crime scene. Considering that the average speed of a car in this area is 30 miles an hour. So that makes…”

 

She started counting on the fingers of her paws while mumbling to herself.

 

“I need a map!”

 

“What?”

 

“A map of zootopia, do you have one?”

 

“Hum yeah over there by the door.”

 

Nick looked at the over excited ball of fur that served as his partner. He smiled and took a sip of his coffee as he watched her take the large map of the city and spread it over the table to the dismay of Porkins who had all his stuff cast aside. Judy took a marker and drew a dot at the place they had found the body. She then popped up her head and proceeded to look around the room searching for something. Her sight stopped at Nick who was starting to worry. She started to close the distance between them with a determination. When she reached him she grabbed his tie and pulled him down so that his head was at her level.

 

“Hum what are you doing carrots?”

 

She didn’t bother to answer as she put her paws around his neck. Her face was very close to his and he could smell her scent clearly from where he stood.

 

She smelled good.

 

Nick looked at her but she, however was looking behind him. She was fiddling with something but he couldn’t exactly tell what, he was way to distracted by her. Then as suddenly as she pulled him down, the force that was holding him to her level disapered and he could now see that she was walking away with his tie.

 

She had stolen his tie...

 

And he didn’t even noticed it until now.

 

She walked back to the table she had left with her new possession. It’s only then that Nick realised his mouth was still hanging open… And Coon and Porkins were staring at him… Shit.

Judy carefully measured the tie against the scale of the map, and at one point she rolled it around the end of the marker. She then pinned the other end on the point which represented the place they had found the body. She used the tie to draw a perfect circle around the point with the radius she had so carefully measured. She then stood back and looked proudly at her creation.

 

“Crime scene should be somewhere in this area.”

 

She looked around to meet the gazes of her co-workers however they were all too dumbstruck by her idea to express any reaction. Nick on his side was also still trying to recover from something else.

 

“It simple guys I just calculated how far they could have gone in the lapse of time they had to move the body. That gave me the radius of the circle which means the crime scene is somewhere in this area. Jezz guys c'mon this isn’t rocket science.”

 

Nick managed to regain himself just enough to speak.

 

“Could we do the same for Po?”

 

“Nah!” Replied Coon. “We found his body too late to have a precise time of death plus we discovered him days after he died.”

 

“Well this is nice and all, but this is just an approximation.” Said Porkins. “It assumes that he was always traveling at the same speed and in a straight line.”

 

“We might be able to get one of the guys in the computer lab to transform a traffic map into a better approximation.” Said Coon.

 

“Even then, there are hundreds of places the crime scene could be. We can’t just search every building.” Said Nick. “Did you guys find any more clues at Mc.Arfur’s apartment?”

 

Coon responded particularly quickly at that one.

 

“Oh you know, nicks and nacks, nothing really important.”

 

There was a silence.

 

“Tell you what. You and Judy can go to that bar, if he was a regular customer maybe people there will know him. Meanwhile, me and Porkins are going to get that map made and we’ll look through that notebook see if we can make anything out if it.”

 

“Yeah fine I guess…” was the only response from the duo.

 

The two teams went their way as Judy and Nick got out of the office. When they were sure they couldn’t hear them any more, Porkins turned to his friend.

 

“Maybe we should just tell them.”

 

“If we do that we might never know the truth. No they cannot know, not right now.”

 

“Well, I’ll go and ask the computer guys to make that map, you can start cross referencing the notebook with what we found yesterday.”

 

Porkins went on his way while Coon was already getting busy.

 

On their sides, Nick and Judy had already reached their parked SUV.

 

“Is it just me or were the guys acting a bit weird?”

 

Judy shrugged “Maybe they were just tired. I think they came back from work late last night.”

 

“And they were in the first responders to the scene so that would make sense.” He added.

 

However Nick had a feeling that he was just trying to convince himself.

 

“So…” He continued “Are you excited for this weekend’s game?”

 

“I am always excited to win a bet.”

 

“Don't be so sure of yourself carrots. You never know what could happen.”

 

“Speak all you want, as soon as the Snows will win I am going to call you up just to mock you.”

 

“Yeah hum about that…” Nick trailed off is smile disappearing. Suddenly he seemed very unsure of himself which wasn’t normal for him.

 

“What is it? Are you afraid you’re going to lose and want to call the bet off?” Judy said with a smile. However she was starting to get worried. It wasn’t like Nick at all to just call something like that off, he had way too much pride.

 

“I was wondering… Well, you told me once that you watched the games on your phone since there was no tv in your apartment and… I hum… I thought maybe that you would like to come over to my place and watch it with me.” He almost whispered the last part.

 

Nick had to stop himself from panting since foxes didn’t get rid of heat by sweating and it was really hot right now.

 

“You know, so you can watch it on a real tv.” He added rapidly while he scratched his back.

 

On her side the world seemed to stop.

 

**_~Did he really said that?_ **

 

**_~No he asked if you liked macaroni. Of course he did stupid._ **

 

**_~What do I say? Is this a date?_ **

 

**_~Watching a game is a totally normal thing to do between friends. Why would it need to be a date?_ **

 

**_~Do I want it to be a date?_ **

 

**_~Yes! Wait, no! Maybe? I don’t know!_ **

 

Nick was now staring at the fixed bunny.

 

“Hum carrots are you alright?”

 

**_~Shit! What do I do?_ **

 

**_~Answer the damn question you stupid bunny!_ **

 

**_~By what?_ **

 

“If you have something else plan carrots it’s okay you don’t have to feel bad.”

 

“WAIT NO! Hum… I mean... I’ll think about it.”

 

Nick turned his attention back to the road looking a bit disappointed. Judy couldn’t help but feel she had hurt him.

 

**_~Good job genius, a “I’ll think about it” means no everyone knows that._ **

 

**_~But I don’t want to say no._ **

 

**_~Then why didn’t you say yes?_ **

 

Judy was defeated by the logic of the voice in her head. Which thinking about it probably shouldn’t exist.

 

“Hum Judy speed…” Nick said still looking in front of him.

 

When she looked down at the speed dial she noticed that she was going 20 mi/h over the limit. She hadn't noticed that her foot had pushed on the accelerator so much while she was debating with herself in her head.

 

The rest of the travel to the bar was made in silence. When they arrived there they had to take the elevator to the top floor since it was on the rooftop. In front of them stood a large well dressed bull that served as bouncer although he also looked like a waiter in a fancy restaurant.

 

The two of them showed their badge to the bouncer.

 

“Officer hopps, and this is officer Wilde. We would like to talk to some of the employees and clients of this establishment.”

 

“What for?” Came the short and snappy response from the imposing bull.

 

“We are investigating a murder and we have proof that our victim was a regular customer.”

 

“Do you have a warrant?”

 

“What? For asking questions? No that doesn't really exi…”

 

“Then fuck off! We don’t want cops making customers uneasy here.”

 

“Actually sir…” Interrupted Nick “You will find that only the owner of the propriety can refuse or grant access to law enforcement. So if you would please be kind enough to fetch the owner, Officer hopps and myself will be waiting here.”

 

The angry bull look back and forth between the two small mammals in uniform that were in front of him.

 

“Fine, you stay where you are I’ll go get him.”

 

The bull left leaving Judy and Nick alone.

 

“I must say I’m impressed Nick.”

 

“Yeah I bet you didn’t think I listened at the academy did you.”

 

“Well you were certainly texting me a whole lot when you should have been studying.”

 

“Hey what can I say. It’s not my fault if the classes were boring. And after all, I did graduate no?”

 

“Yeah, but not first of your class.”

 

“Pfff! That is so you. Passing isn’t enough, you have to be the best.”

 

He said that however with a smile. While some people could see her overachieving personality as somewhat annoying, Nick found it one of her most likable personality trait.

 

“I grew up with 275 siblings, that makes me a competitive bunny.”

 

“And a cute one at that.”

 

The bouncer came back with an angry looking badger. Their appearance saved Judy from Nick watching her turn a crimson red under her fur.

 

“I’m here what do you want!” He snapped at them.

 

“Sir one of your regular client was murdered recently and we would…”

 

Juddy didn’t have the time to finish her sentence, the badger hushed her frantically making signs with his paws.

 

“Shhh! Quiet it down bunny! Not where my customers could hear you. Come with me we’ll talk in my office.”

 

Judy chose to simply ignore the offensive remarque and followed the angry owner. They entered the club but only to quickly turn the corner and end up in an employee only area. This however gave just enough time for Nick to get a good look at the kind of people that frequented this bar. He had always been good at judging people on first sight. It was a talent sought after for good con man. It was also a weapon of mass destruction in the matter of psychological warfare. He had used it against Judy when he first met her, but he had failed to see how stubborn she was at the time. What he had seen of the customer reeked wealth and superficiality. Most of them looked like animals way past the age to go in a club that just wanted to feel young again. While Mc.Arfur could afford coming here if he didn’t spend too much on drinks, Nick didn’t saw why he would. He had not seemed from what he could tell from the interviews with his colleagues like the type of mammal who would like to hang out here.

 

They followed the badger up some stairs that lead to a small office overlooking the bar. He sat down in his office chair without offering a seat to them or even acknowledging them.

 

“What do you want officers?” he said with an annoyed look on his face.

 

“One of your recurrent customer died yesterday morning. His name was James L.McArfur and we…”

 

“Don’t know him.” Cut the badger.

 

“Ok… And we would like to ask questions to your personnel and customers.”

 

“No. Get out.”

 

“What?”

 

“I sat down, I listen to you, and now I choose to ignore you. I do believe I can refuse you access to my propriety if I so desire.”

 

Judy was about to complain but Nick stopped her with a movement of his paw.

 

“Fine sir. We respect your rights as a owner. If you change your mind we’ll just be outside the limits of your property stopping everyone coming here to ask them questions.” He said with a grin. “Alright Judy come on let’s go.”

 

“Wait no you don’t have the rights...”

 

“Of asking people questions on a public propriety. Of course we do.”

 

“Wait! Fine I’ll let you talk to my employees, but only to them. If I hear you’ve been asking questions to clients I'm kicking you out. Do we have a deal?”

 

“Yes sir. Thank you for your generosity we won’t be long.” He said with a fake smile.

 

They both got out of the office and as soon as they closed the door Nick spoke his mind.

 

“Asshole.” he muttered.

 

It solicited a short laughter from Judy which proceeded to make Nick smile.

 

“So where do we start?” Asked Judy.

 

“Well if I know something from my extensive knowledge about bars, is that the barmaid is the best animal to talk to for information on people. You wouldn’t believe how much people open up when they are drunk, especially if the barmaid is attractive.”

 

“What do you mean by ‘extensive’?”

 

“That my dear… Is a story for another time.”

 

They both looked at each other smiling. When they arrived at the counter, they were lucky enough for it to be no other customers that needed attention at the moment. The barmaid, a young looking fashionable horse, greeted them. With a smile.

 

“Hi officers! What can I do for you?”

 

“Would you happen to know this mammal?” Judy showed her a picture of the late wolf. “He was a regular customer.”

 

“Oh yeah that's James. Why do you want to know?”

 

“Well miss, Mr.Arfur was found dead by the ZPD yesterday morning. And we hoped you could give us some information.”

 

“Oh my god this is horrible! Poor man, I am afraid I won’t be of much help taugh.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

“Well you see, James wasn’t really the social animal, sweet old thing. He usually liked to hang out in the corner right over there by himself. Something about the view he said, he even brought his camera a few times to take picture. But other wise he didn’t really mingled much. The only reason the owner didn't kick him out was because he always bought at least one drink and he came here almost every day.”

 

“Thank you miss you gave us more information than we could have hoped.” Said Nick

 

He walked away from the counter towards the area she said their victim used to hang out. Judy didn’t understand why Nick said she had gave them much information. She herself thought it wasn’t much to work on. But she trusted her partner and he had this smile on his face that told her he had a plan.

 

“So is she one of those attractive barmaid you were talking about?”

 

“Meh, she seems nice and all but she’s not my type.”

 

“So what is your type then?”

 

“Wouldn’t you want to know hen?”

 

She actually did, but she would never admit it. So instead she settled on a smile.

 

“Level with me here big boy. I know that face what are you thinking about?”

 

“Well Mc.Arfur certainly didn’t come here for the people, not that I see why anyone would. He also didn’t come here for the drinks since he always only bought the minimal not to get kicked. So why did he come here?”

 

“I don’t know, why?”

 

“For the location, more precisely for this corner. There must be something there that pushed him to come back here and I intend on finding what it is.”

 

They arrived at the set corner of the rooftop bar. From there they had quite an impressive view of the city. Fortunately for them, it was a remote point of the bar and nobody was there except them. Nick started searching under the outside benches that were scattered here and there.

 

“Hey Nick.”

 

“Hmm?” He replied still busy looking around for something, he had no clue what.

 

“I have been thinking about what you said in the car and…”

 

“Listen carrots if you don’t want to come it’s okay, you don’t have to feel bad for it.”

 

“No but I do want to come.”

 

“Really?” Nick’s head perked up, his ears rising.

 

“Yeah!” She said with a smile. “ It’ll be fun. Two friends watching a game together you know.”

 

“Gr… Great!”

 

He was obviously quite happy to hear her change her mind. This in turn made Judy smiled. While she was coming down from the excitement, she leaned over the rail and took a good look at the city. From here she could see all the major district. Although she couldn’t see it directly, she could guess the location of the police station. The view also gave her a close look at the major towers of the city center, like the ZTV headquarters, and the ZMB tower, and… Wait.

 

From here she could clearly observe the the ZMB siege where Mc.Arfur worked. More importantly, the bar was directly facing the glass wall that gave to the CEO’s office.

 

“Nick look at this.”

 

She pointed her paw at the office building and at the top floor.

 

“You can see inside Clawson’s office from here.” He said.

 

“Yeah but it is a bit far away from here. You would something to be able to clearly see inside.”

 

“Something with a zoom maybe…” Said Nick. “Like a camera.”

 

They both looked at eachother for an instant before saying at the same time:

 

“Arfur was surveying his boss!”

 

**…**

 

The two investigators were walking down the corridor of a decrepitated apartment complex in chinatown. It was extremely late at night which made the landlady furious when they asked for the keys to the abandoned apartment.

 

“I thought you had finished with the search weeks ago!” Said the grumpy old lady

 

“Something new came up in the case. So you have the keys?”

 

She grumbled and gave the keys to the officers who immediately turned away towards the apartment in question.

 

They had came directly from Arfur’s apartment complex after they had finished searching it. Normally they should have been at the police station by now, but the discoverie that they had made there was too much to simply ignore. They didn’t want to mess around, they had been up since the crack of dawn and they knew that this would take a few more hours. Hell it might technically be a new day when they would punch out.

 

They unceremoniously opened the apartment’s front door and entered. They looked around the small room, this time looking for indications they weren’t the first time they had come here. The back wall of the closet is what hooked Coon’s attention. It seemed to stand out from the other walls like it wasn't made at the same time. He knocked on it and found that the sound echoed. He then took out and extended is measuring band he had brought with them and proceeded to measure the distance between the suspicious wall and the door. Then he measured the distance between the door of the apartment and the door of the one next to it on the same side as the closet.

 

He knocked loudly on the neighbor’s door, possibly waking up half a dozen other resident. The door open slightly, still blocked by a chain. The visage of a large white tiger appeared through the opening.

 

“What do you want?” he said angrily.

 

Coon flashed his badge. “Hi sir could we come in?”

 

“No.”

 

The tiger moved to close the door but Coon stopped it by wedging his paw in. He then proceeded to get a 100$ bill from his pocket and wiggled it under the tiger’s nose.

 

“Alright but be quick.”

 

The door closed only to reopen again this time letting the officers walk in. Porkins gave the tiger the money while his partner immediately proceeded to measure the wall from the door to the back of the closet on the other side.

 

A quick bit of math told him that the wall of the closet was about three foot too large. He tank the tiger and got out leaving him to admire the bill in his paw.

 

Back in po’s apartment, Coon took the first large heavy object he could find which was the metal leg of a broken table. He took a good swing and made a hole in the wall. It came crashing down on the plaster with a loud bangn. Only a few moments later, the landlady had came running.

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

 

“Miss this is an investigation scene I am going to need you to get out please.” Said Porkins.

 

“What are you doing to my apartments you maniack. I want you out now!”

 

“I’m afraid this won’t be possible miss now if you’ll please stand back while we are doing our jobs.”

 

BANG!

 

Coon gave the las strike against the wall which now allowed him to see what was behind it. The fake wall covered an other one that had picture pinned all over it in the same fashion as in Mc.Arfur’s apartment. The landlady had stopped screaming when she saw this.

 

“Po wasn’t a nobody.” Said Coon. “He was paranoid.”

 

“Well it’s not paranoia if it’s real.” Replied Porkins.

 

Both of them quickly looked over the photos on the wall. They were both searching for photo similar to the one that almost gave them a heart attack a few hours ago.

 

And sure enough it was there.

 

On the wall was a couple photos all depicting the same familiar thing.

 

“Shit!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter of… Bunny and Wilde. *speaks with a very low narrating voice* Our two cop duo will finally know who will win between the Snow Warriors and the Sand Boggies. Who will win the bet? What are Coon and Porkins hiding? Find out next time… Seriously taught the next chapter will be the first real fluff chapter and hopefully things will start accelerating from there in that domain since I find that it has been a bit left on the side until now. Let me know what you think, and I would be curious to see who do you think will win the bet in the comments. Oh well cia.


	4. The game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay… So remember when I say this would be a fluff chapter… Well it still is BUT, it also has an important plot point. The most important though is that it took me such a long time to be satisfied with what I have written (to be honest I don’t think I still fully am). But at one point I had to get it over with and release the chapter from captivity so here you go… Enjoy *Braces for impact*
> 
>  
> 
> P.S: Oh and also for those who wonder, I have no Idea what tuskball is truly like, but I imagine it as a mix of american and european football.

 

Coon passed his paw over his face. Behind the desk in front of him was Porkins. His friend and colleague was sleeping at his desk. Coon wasn't sure how long it had been since the last time he himself slept for more than two hours.

  
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!   
  
Porkins's head shot up as his phone rang marking the end of his power nap. They were the only two mammals in the office since Hopps and Wilde had been given the weekend off. The investigators were not so lucky. Bogo had been pestering them to solve this case as fast as they possibly could. They were now living in this office for the mean time, working non-stop only taking timely power naps from time to time.   
  
Coon was however happy that the two other officers were not there. It spared him the feat of dodging questions. He was afraid that after they discovered that Mc.Arfur was tailing his boss, they'd ask where were the picture he had taken. He knew he would have to reveal their existence to them at some point but that's not what bothered him. Most of the photos would have been okay to share with them. No, it was a particular set of photos all with the same particular subject that Coon didn’t want Hopps and Wilde to see.

 

Right now Coon and Porkins were examining photos of different locations, trying to identify them and then place them on the map they had made from Hopps’s estimation. The hope was that one of them would be in the probable area of the crime scene. Often they weren’t able to precisely identify the building on the photos. When all they could see was that this or that building was a steakhouse, they had to mark all the steakhouses it could possibly be. Then, they would go out and drive in front of the buildings to try and identify them by comparing it to the photos. As to not waste time driving around, they would wait until they had 20 possible locations to visit or more. Even then, Zootopia was a big city. It took them a long time to get to where they were, and it would still get a long time to finish.

 

Coon looked at his watch.

 

Only three hours to go before his next power nap. Great!

 

**...**

 

Judy was excited and yet terrified at the same time.

 

Terrified might not be the best choice of word to describe what she was feeling right now. No it was more like a sort of nervousness/anticipation.

 

She didn’t know why she was feeling like that. It was only two friends watching a game together, nothing abnormal there. At Least that’s what she kept telling herself.

 

The bus reached the stop Nick had told her to get off on. When she got off she took a good look at her surroundings. This part of town was, even though it wasn’t the worst, renown for it’s poverty. Most of its inhabitant were predators whose species were deemed untrustworthy by society like foxes and weasels. Needless to say that the small bunny was getting sideways glance from many people, some of which were even hostile. At that moment Judy was thankful that she wasn’t wearing her ZPD uniform because she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t have been attacked. In any case, she didn’t want to start to find out if she would now. So she quickly made her way to the address Nick gave her. It was on the third floor of an old looking apartment complex. Judy took a moment to look at the door that stood in front of her, and with a deep breath, she knocked.

 

Nick couldn’t stay in place. He kept walking around his tiny apartment to make sure everything was in order. Normally his place was a mess but in preparation for the event he had spent the whole day trying to clean it up. Now that he had run out of things to do in preparation, inactivity was driving him nuts.

 

**_~Is this how she feels like everyday?_ **

 

He thought while thinking about the always over eager bunny.

 

**_~What if she doesn’t show up?_ **

 

**_~No she wouldn’t do that would she?_ **

 

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

 

**_~Shit! It’s her what do I do?_ **

 

**_~Hide!_ **

 

**_~What!? No! Go answer, you were so afraid she wouldn’t show up and now you want to hide!?_ **

 

“Nick are you there?” Came the familiar voice from the other side of the door.

 

“Humm… Yes just a minute.”

 

Nick looked himself in a mirror to make sure that he looked impeccable. Once he was assured everything about his appearance was exactly how he wanted it he went to the door and opened it.

 

“Hey carrots.”

 

“Hey.” She replied looking up at him with a smile. “I brought chips.”

 

They stared at eachother for a moment both smiling like idiots. After a moment Nick realized he had just been staring at her.

 

“Oh! Humm… Do come in. Make yourself at home.”

 

Judy entered the apartment and took a good look around. Although still considered small, Nick’s place was considerably larger than her own, not that that was saying much. She was surprised at how neatly packed and cleaned everything was.

 

“I didn’t pitch you as the kind who cleaned after himself Nick.”

 

“You hurt me rabbit.” He said making a gesture towards his heart.

 

**_~Please don't open the closet._ **

 

“Like I would be the messy kind… I mean…”

 

**_~Everything is in the closet, please don’t open it._ **

 

“Alright, alright quit bragging.” She said jokingly, giving him a little shove.

 

Nick faked extreme pain from where she had just touched him. Grasping his “injured” side and taking a few step back.

 

“Arghhh! Police brutality. Help me, this bunny is going savage!”

 

Judy giggled as she tried to land more “punches” on Nick who proceeded to defend himself. After a moment they were both exhausted and laughing.

 

“I thought you were the top of your class at paw to paw combat.”

 

“Don’t start if you don’t want to get hurt for real. Besides I went easy on you.”

 

“Hmhm I bet. So, we still have a bit of time before the game starts. What do you want to do?”

 

“How about you give me a tour?”

 

“It's going to be a quick one. My apartment is tiny.”

 

“Please this is like five times larger than my place.”

 

Nick grimaced at the thought of a place so small. “Why do you still live in that shoe box?”

 

Judy simply shrugged. “It’s convenient. So close to the station.”

 

“Well then as you can see we are presently standing in the living room of this magnificent palace.” Nick said with an over the top snobbish accent.

 

“Well I must say I am impressed by the sight. The casa del Wilde is truly an incredible fortress.”

 

Nick laughed. “Casa del Wilde… I like it, consider this the official name of this place from now on.”

 

He continued giving Judy a tour as both of them tried their hardest to come up with the best jokes. It had been a long time since either of them laughed that much. They frankly didn’t think that a house tour could be so funny. By the time they were finished, the game was about to start.

 

“Do you want a beer?” Asked Nick from the small kitchenette.

 

Judy was about to say no until a little voice in her head told her to accept it and loosen up. This was after all just the two of them watching a game… As friends… No need to be so formal right?

 

“Yeah i’ll take you up on that.” She said

 

Nick came back with two brown bottle.

 

“Will it be okay if it’s not carrot moonshine?”

 

“Ahah…” She said with a fake laughter.

 

The bottle being fox size was a bit big for judy, but nothing overwhelming. They both sat on each end of the tiny sofa that was facing the tv. Nick arrived with the beers just in time to see the Boogies come out on the field.

 

“WOOH OOH!” Screamed Nick as the captain of the team came out on the field. “Go Ronaldo!”

 

Ronaldo was a kangaroo and most importantly, Nick’s favorite player.

 

“Looks like somebody as a crush on Ronaldo.” Said Judy with a large smile on her face.

 

“I’ll have you know that this mammal right here, is the mammal that is going to make the Boogies win.”

 

“I know that Ronaldo is a good player, but is he as good as to beat the Snows all to himself because the rest of his team is useless.”

 

“Hugh! How dare you?” He replied with his signature grin on his face.

 

The Mascot of the Snows came out of the tunnel at that moment and Judy suddenly went on super excited bunny mode. She started giving Nick light punches in the arm as her eyes remained glued on the screen.

 

“Oh! Oh! Oh… Here they come Nick! Here they come!”

 

“Ouch! Alright carrots, I can see. No need for so much punching… Ouch!”

 

For a cute little bunny Judy sure could punch hard even if she didn’t mean to. Nick watched her as she looked in admiration at the team she was supporting. It would be so cute to see her grumpy little face in a fox costume he thought.

 

“I bet you only like them because the team’s owner is an arctic hare.”

 

“I didn’t even know that.” She said looking genuinely surprised.

 

“How could you not have known the species of the owner of the team you’re rooting for?”

 

“Well I do have other stuff to do than just watch the tuskball games. Like making sure I do my paperworks on time.” She said with an accusative look that transmitted the exact meaning of the message.

 

“Ha you sweet innocent little thing. You need to start learning to have fun carrots.”

 

“And what... You are going to show me how?”

 

Nick didn’t know why but he felt as if the temperature of the room suddenly had went up. He took a good gulp of his beer to cool himself down.

 

“If it wasn’t for me you'd spend most of your time doing ZPD work.”

 

She just shrugged the comment and went back to the screen as the game was about to start. Quickly both of them stopped talking as they were glued to the tv. Every time a team would score, the fan of that team would tease the other while screaming. Every time they would give slight nudges and jokes and every time, without noticing it, they would scoot over closer together.

 

“GO! GO! GO! GO GO GO GO!”

 

“NO! NO! NOOOOOOOO!” Screamed the bunny as she was grasping her ears that fell on the side of her head.

 

“YEEEEEEES! GOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!” The fox said with a smile going from ear to ear, arms in the air and his paws above his head. “3-1 for the boogies. Guess who is going to dress as a fox tomorrow.”

 

Nick continued to mess with her, trying to boop her while extracting some playful laughter from her at the same time.

 

“About that…” Judy began, but she didn’t have the time to finish Nick already knew what she was going to say.

 

“Yes carrots, it has to be on a workday. Where would be the fun if it wasn’t?”

 

“Oh god no can you imagine what Bogo would think about this?”

 

“Well we are soon going to find out.”

 

“Take that grin off your face you sly fox.” She said smiling at him. “The game isn’t over yet.”

 

“Well the first quarter is over and the Boogies are in the lead so I am pretty confident… Dumb bunny.”

 

Nick proceeded to poke her several more times.

 

“Common carrots I thought you were good at self defense”

 

“Okay now you’ve asked for it”

 

In a swift motion Judy kicked Nick off the couch and onto the ground where she then proceeded to pin him down into a submission position. They were both laughing as judy sat on top of him for a moment. Silence fell as they both looked at each other still smiling. They were so close… so, so very close…

 

A buzz came from the coffee table where Judy’s phone sat. She turned her gaze from Nick to look at the small object. She got up and looked at the screen.

 

“Shit, I have 13 missed calls from Coon!”

 

Nick grabbed his own phone and looked at it.

 

“Me too.”

 

They hadn’t realised until now that their phone had been ringing non stop during the game because they were too distracted by… other things.

 

“I’m calling him back, I’ll put him on speaker.” Said Judy.

 

She did just so and after the first ring Coon picked up.

 

“Coon, I it’s me is everything alri…”

 

“WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU!”

 

Judy almost jumped at the loud response.

 

“Humm… I’m with Nick we’re watching the game and humm…”

 

“Where?” Cut the raccoon.

 

“At his place why?”

 

“Don’t move we’re coming to get you.”

 

“Humm…” Nick said now talking for the first time since the call had begun. “You do know that this is our off day right?”

 

“And you do know that when you accepted to help us with the case you were on call from then on?”

 

“Why do you even need us?” He asked.

 

“We found the crime scene.”

 

“What! How?” Asked Judy.

 

“Not important. We’ll tell you later. Just get ready we’re already on our way.”

 

“I don’t have my uniform.”

 

“Do you have your badge?”

 

“Yeah I always carry it on me…”

 

“That’ll be enough. We’ll be here in 15 minutes, be ready.”

 

Coon didn’t let them reply, that he had already hung up. The both of them simply exchanged a glance that clearly meant “why now?” and then without a word, started getting ready. Nick recorded the rest of the match so they could watch it later and Judy went to get her things, most importantly her badge. 13 minutes later they were outside waiting for Coon and Porkins, Nick in his uniform and Judy only with her badge. They didn’t have to wait for long, A police SUV came to a sudden halt in front of them. The window of the passenger seat came down to reveal Porkins’s face.

 

“Get in!”

 

They didn't need to be asked twice, they all but jumped in the car.

 

“So where are we heading?” Asked Nick.

 

“Misty Blvd in the rain forest district. An old dry cleaner over there.”

 

“Wait! Mc.Arfur was killed in a dry cleaner? How?” Said Judy.

 

“Probably in the back, as to what he was doing there we’ll find out.”

 

“And why do you need us exactly?” Asked Nick.

 

“All the other teams are on patrol, it would have taken more time to call one back and fill the paperwork needed and all. It was easier to get you guys on it.”

 

“But why the hurry? Couldn’t you have just waited?”

 

It is Porkins this time that responded.

 

“The killer might know we are coming.”

 

“How?”

 

“To make sure this was the right place we had to pass in front of it. The owner probably saw us, and the only way we cans see Mc.Arfur getting killed in that building without anybody noticing anything, is that the owner is either the killer or he his in mesh with him.”

 

Coon continued where Porkins had left.

 

“So the owner and/or the killer might be trying to remove evidences right now. We got a warrant as soon as we could while we called you up. We’re almost there.”

 

Once they arrived at the dry cleaner they saw it was closed even though it was during open hours. There seemed to be nobody in the front store but they knew better than to just rely on that. Before entering, Coon and Porkins took out their weapons from their holster and gave two more that were in the car to Nick and Judy.

 

Actual lethal ballistic weapons had been outlawed many years ago. Now people and the police only used tranquilizer guns. That is not to say that old fashion guns didn’t exist anymore. If you went through an extensive series of test and paperwork, a ZPD officer could be allowed a ballistic weapon given he had a good reason for it. The special force unit for example had a whole kind of variety of weapons. Some black market where you could buy old or homemade weapons also existed, but they were rare and dangerous.

 

Coon went for the doorknob but realised that it was locked without much surprise. He gave a sign to Porkins who then proceeded to place himself in front of the old wooden door. In a swift and powerful motion, Porkins kicked the door which gave away without much resistance.

 

“ZPD! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!” Screamed Coon to the empty front store. He was sure however that the back wouldn’t be so empty.

 

This time it was to Nick and Judy to stand in front of the closed door that lead to the back store. Porkins put his hoof on the door and waited for the signal given by Coon that was facing him on the other side of the door. Once he received the signal, he quickly opened the door to let pass the other officers. Nick and Judy went through gun raised. Once they made sure that there was nothing in front of them, they turned and covered the sides while Coon went through then followed by Porkins.

 

The back store was extremely dark, and they were tons of places people could be hiding behind the hanged clothes of all sizes. Fortunately, Nick and Coon both had night vision while Judy had a particularly well developed sense of hearing. Porkins him… Well Porkins could always be moral support.

 

When they entered, Judy’s ears perked up as she heard a distant sound of clinging from their left side. She motioned to the rest of the team from where she had heard the sound, most probably of the metal clothes hanger hitting each other as someone passed through them. That side of the back store was the one reserved for clothe of large mammals, like elephants and hippopotamuses. Since there were more than one row, they decided to split into two groups. The first being Coon and Porkins, they took the further left row, and the second being Judy and Nick they took the row next to it.

 

Nick and Judy were walking down their row when Judy heard another clinging nearby. Nick seeing Judy’s ear twitch, froze and examined their surroundings.

 

“Porkins watch out!” They heard Coon say, followed by sounds of struggling.

 

They quickly joined them in their row weapon in paw. They saw Coon on the ground and Porkins beside him. Coon had clearly pushed his friend out of the way of something. Porkins looked around but couldn’t see anything due to his lack of night vision. It was Coon that guided them by pointing towards the end of the row. There Judy and Nick could see a moose running away with something in his paw.

 

“He’s got a knife.” Said Coon while picking himself up.

 

Nick didn’t need to think for long before he aimed at the large mammal. Considering the suspect was armed and that Nick had a perfect shot on him, he decided to fire his tranquilizer. He hit him straight in the back, extracting a small whim from the armed prey. The chemical used to tranquilize suspects was a feat of modern science. Two shots could incapacitate a large elephant and one of the same shots posed no threats to smaller mammals. Only the citizens of little rodentia needed a different approach, but it was more due to the size of the needle than anything else. The moose took two more clumsy steps before falling on the ground.

 

Nick and Judy approached the unconscious suspect while Coon and Porkins got up. Nick put paw-cuffs on him while Judy took away his weapon. She remarked that it wasn’t a normal knife. In fact it looked more like fake metal claws. But before she could connect anymore dots, a bright light invaded her sight. All four of them turned to see the direction of the mysterious light only to realise that it was coming from the fire exit.

 

Someone else was there.

 

“Go get him!” Said Coon “Me and Porkins are going to get this one back to the car.”

 

Nick and Judy were after all the fastest of them four. For all the “In Zootopia anyone can be anything”, It went without saying that a fox and a bunny were faster than a raccoon and a pig.

 

So they started running as fast as they could towards the exit. When they got out, they found themselves in an alley behind the shop. At the end of said alley they were able to catch a glimpse of their fugitive as he turned the corner. It was another moose about the same size of the last one dressed in a white shirt and jeans. They were running after him as fast as they could, turns out a moose is pretty fast when trying to run for his life. Try as he might, Nick was incapable of closing the, already quite big, distance between him and the moose. Judy on the other paw… Judy was starting to slowly gain ground on the fleeing criminal even though it was taking a toll on her stamina to run so fast. Seeing this, the moose quickly took a turn into a busy street. The cars screech as they were barely capable of dodging the large mammal. It wasn’t of much importance to Judy who was capable of ducking under the larger cars and hopping onto the smaller ones. For Nick though…

 

Nick started crossing the street not seeing that a car was heading straight for him. The driver tried to stop but he was already going too fast for it. He however did manage to slow enough for Nick to brace for impact once he realised what was going to happen.

 

Judy heard the screech of the tires followed by a loud sound of impact. When she turned around, she saw Nick getting knocked back a few feets.

 

“Nick!” She screamed while turning around to reach her best friend.

 

“I’m alright… I’m alright.” He said raising a paw in the air while wincing in pain.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked looking terrified at the prospect of him getting seriously hurt.

 

“Yeah, yeah… Just… Go get him.” He said still clutching his side that the car hit.

 

She reluctantly turned back to follow where she had seen the suspect go just before Nick got hit. She turned the corner only to find herself in one of the busiest road of the rainforest district. There were dozens of passersby going around, shopping. In the crowd, Judy looked for antlers. She could see a single pair on her left walking away from her and a group of it on her right also walking away. Due to the large mass of people, she was unable to tell to whom did the antlers belong. She prayed that the moose wouldn’t be smart enough to lay low with another group of mooses and decided to go after the solitary pair.

 

She ran as fast as she could to catch him before he could realise that she had found him in the crowd. Only, when she did get close enough, she realised that the moose she was following was wearing a khaki polo… The moose that escaped was wearing a white shirt…

 

He had just escaped her…

 

She ran back like she never ran before in the hope of catching the group but she wasn’t able to find them. Exhausted, she decided to stop to catch her breath. He had just escaped her…

 

She spoke into her radio.

 

“This… This is… hu… Officer Judy Hopps… I have lost pursuit… the suspect… the suspect got away.” She finished her sentence out of breathe.

 

She then remembered that Nick had just been hit, and with the last remains of energy she could muster, she headed back to where he was hoping he was okay. When she arrived, Nick had his back up along a wall as he was panting. He too was exhausted from the running and from his accident. He would probably have a mark from where the car it him, but it had managed to slow down enough for him to not sustain serious injuries. Judy sat beside him without a word as both tried to recover, no doubt Nick would have heard her call on the radio.

 

After a moment, they were picked up by Coon and Porkins In the SUV with the criminal. When they got back to the precinct, they had to fill in a large pile of paperwork. Arrest usually needed quite a few forms filled out, but when a tranquilizer was involved in the arrest, the amount of paperwork skyrocketed. It didn’t help that one of the suspects got away, giving even more papers for Nick and Judy. At the end they handed over their reports and Bogo gave them the next day off seeing as this was supposed to be one of their off day.

 

When they finished, it was already dark outside. Both of them decided to go back to the “Casa del Wilde” to finish watching the game. In reality, the match was already over, but they still wanted to watch it and Judy had left some of her stuff there anyways.

 

Nick opened the apartment’s door and unceremoniously crashed on one end of the couch. Judy did the same thing by sitting right next to him. Nick started the recording from where they had left and drank the rest of his now room temperature beer. This time there wasn’t as much teasing as there was in the first place since they were way to exhausted for that. Both of them simply sat there next to each other, drinking their beers and trying to fight off sleep. They didn’t realise, but this was a loosing fight and before they knew it both of them fell asleep next to each other…

 

“Nick…” Came a low familiar voice. “Nick…”

 

Nick opened his eyes with difficulty. He was laying… God knows where but he was laying on something. His environment was blurry and he couldn’t make out where he was. One thing that he could recognise, in fact the only thing that wasn't blurry right now was the bunny that laid next to him. Judy, his best friend and partner was laying with him in… His bed… wait no they were in a tree… no on a cloud in the sky. They were floating it seemed… maybe they were on a plane… it didn’t matter, the important was that she was there with him, smiling at him.

 

“Judy? What… where?” He started confused.

 

“Hey shhh…” She stopped him.

 

She put one of her paw on his shoulder which sent electricity up his spine. God was she cute. No cute didn’t describe it, she was… beautiful. She was a cute that took on a whole other meaning than the one he had used before… she was… so… indescribable. Nick felt his heart rate jump up with her touch, that was the only thing that seemed capable of describing her. The fast beating of his heart accomplished the job that no words could do.

 

“Ju… Judy?”

 

She closed the distance between them and slowly lifted her paw to his cheek to caress it. Nick didn’t know what was happening but he frankly didn’t care. He felt numb everywhere, electricity coursing through his body all coming from Judy’s paw. He saw her bright amethyst eyes coming closer as they slowly closed. Before he knew it, Judy’s lips were on his. Like the background, the feeling was blurry but one thing Nick was sure is that this was the best feeling he ever felt. Well at least that was until he woke up…

 

Nick’s eyes suddenly opened wide and he found himself panting.

 

**_~A dream… it was a dream._ **

 

Nick looked around him, he was in his apartment on the couch where he was before he had fallen asleep. The tv displayed some soap commercial and below it, a clocked showed the time. 2:38.

 

Nick suddenly felt something wiggle next to him. He looked down to see Judy pressed against his chest, using it as a pillow. She had a smile spread across her face that only made her look cuter. This brought back the memories of Nick’s dream to him as he realised what had just happened. His face became extremely hot as he blushed over the things he dreamt about. Judy wiggled once more and Nick decided that he really needed to get up.

 

It was no easy feat seeing how he was crushed by her immense bunny weight. All kidding aside though he really didn't want to wake her now, he needed time to think. So, he slowly slided his paws under her head to replace his stomach as a pillow. He then proceeded to remove himself from under her and gently guided her head down unto one of the couch’s pillow. He then turned off the tv by fear something on it would wake her up and started to pace around the room.

 

**_~What the hell was that?_ **

 

**_~I believe it's called a dream dumbass._ **

 

**_~Yeah but why was it like that?_ **

 

**_~I think we both know why…_ **

 

**_~No, no, no ,nonononono this can’t be happening._ **

 

Nick looked at the small bunny laid on his couch, she looked so happy. The sight of her cute little smile melted Nick’s heart, until he came back to himself.

 

**_~No, no this is just an effect of the dream you just had, tomorrow you won’t feel anything._ **

 

**_~Yeah, sure, and why did you have that dream in the first place?_ **

 

**_~Dreams are a strange thing, they don’t necessarily mean something._ **

 

**_~You can say that, or you can stop lying to yourself…_ **

 

The memories of the past few days suddenly overcame Nick. How he felt when Judy told him she had a date, how he felt when she took his tie, when he invited her over…

 

**_~No, no, no I can’t…_ **

 

**_~Why not?_ **

 

**_~Because I’m a fox, and she’s a bunny._ **

 

**_~You’re Nick and she’s Judy… It’s not about what you two are but about who you are._ **

 

Nick looked back at her still laid on the couch, curled up in a ball of fur. Again he was hit by the same feeling only to again try to shake it off.

 

**_~I need a cold shower and a good night sleep. I’ll think about all of this once I’m rested._ **

 

Nick got out a blanket from one of the closets and laid it on her. He wished her a good night sleep and had to forcefully separate himself from her as at that moment he only wanted to stay by her side. Once all of this was done, he directly went to the bathroom where he got in the shower. Although it felt good, the shower didn’t wash away all his thoughts like he had hopped. At the end he was laying in his bed unable to close his eyes as a million thoughts went through his mind… They didn’t finish watching the game…

 

**_~Well I’m never going to find sleep if I don’t know._ **

 

He took his phone and went on the internet, where he found a sport news article. It read:

 

_ Ronaldo injured mid-match, the Snows take the victory! _

 

Shit.

 

**_~Sleeping is overrated anyway._ **

  
  


**...**

 

Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!

 

The small but dangerous mammal answered his phone.

 

“Who’s this?”

 

…

 

“Hmmhm”

 

…

 

“Yeah who’s the target?”

 

…

 

“Yeah I can do that but it’s gonna cost you extra.”

 

…

 

“No I don’t have a problem with it, I can manage it. But… You are asking me to kill two ZPD officers, so you have to expect an extra.”

 

…

 

“Good, you know where to put the money.”

 

…

 

“Well then consider it done.”

 

He Hung up the phone and smiled to himself. This was going to be one of the more interesting contracts, and he loved it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well… Did you enjoy it? Oh god I hope you enjoyed it… I feel like I may have hyped you guys and gals about the fluff only to under deliver, but hey I did say it was a slow burn… Anyway, you have to admit that it still represents quite the progress in their relationship seeing that one of them actually knows now that he has the hots for the other. Feel free to comment and soothe my overly attached ego or make a constructive comment that will help me make my story better so that others can soothe my ego. goodbye.


	5. Good cop bad cop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And a new chapter straight from the oven… I rushed this one because I’m going on vacation for a bit more than a week where I’ll be unable to write anything. So don’t expect to see a new chapter in less than two weeks. Well here you go enjoy!

Judy never slept so good…

 

She couldn’t remember when she first dozed off, but God knew that her bed never felt so soft and warm. It was also a miracle that her neighbours hadn’t woken her up yet. She dreaded the moment when her alarm would ring…

 

Wait, how come her alarm hadn’t ringed yet?

 

And how was it possible for her neighbours to be so quiet?

 

And her bed was never that comfortable…

 

She slowly opened her eyes to figure out exactly where she was and what was going on. The first thing she noticed was that she, infact, was not in her apartment. She was laying on someone else’s couch that had been turned into a makeshift bed for her. She didn’t remember there being a blanket or a pillow when she fell asleep. What could she remember before falling asleep actually? She remembered… being at Nick’s place with him and… watching the game together and… that was it really.

 

Remembering this, she then confirmed her suspicion. She was still at Nick’s place, on the same couch they had watch the game on. She sat up and stretched her paws above her head while giving a slight grunt. Her ears shot up and her nose started twitching as she smelled something wonderful coming from the kitchenette.

 

“Morning fluff.” She heard the familiar voice from the same direction as the smell.

 

“Good morning.” She replied still not fully woken up. “What time is it?”

 

“9:30”

 

Her eyes opened wide and all sign of fatigue suddenly left her body.

 

“Nick! We’re going to be late for work!”

 

“Calm down carrots. Bogo gave us the day off don’t you remember?”

 

“Oh… yeah right…”

 

The smell hit her again in a new wave and she couldn’t help but feel her stomach grumble a little, she was almost drooling.

 

“Mmmmh! What are you cooking it smells so good.”

 

“Carrot bread with syrup and blueberries.”

 

“Wait, you made carrot bread?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“And you already had everything you needed for it?”

 

“Nope, I went to the grocery store. Why?”

 

“I simply didn’t think of you as a morning mammal. But you had the time to wake up, buy groceries and make breakfast before I woke up.”

 

“Well I usually don’t do that kind of stuff, but I couldn’t sleep last night so…” Nick said nervously.

 

“And why is that I wonder…” She said with a playful smile.

 

Nick started feeling his face heat up and he was thankful that his fur was red. Otherwise she might have seen a difference in coloration as his skin under his natural coth started blushing.

 

“I… I don’t know…” He stammered.

 

“Nick…” She said while cocking her eyebrow.

 

“What?”

 

“Who won the game Nick?”

 

“Oh… euh… that I… I don’t know I haven’t looked it up.”

 

“For a fox you’re a really bad liar Nick.”

 

He gave a sight before throwing her today's newspaper. On the front page it read:

 

_ The Snows take the match after a turn of events _

 

“I knew it!” She exclaimed. “I knew that the reason you couldn’t sleep was because you lost the bet.”

 

“Well carrots, I must say you see right through me.” Nick lied.

 

“Well this means no shower for you mister.”

 

“Can I still use perfume?”

 

“Of course, I want to see you being miserable, I don’t want to die asphyxiated.”

 

“You’re a mean bunny.” Nick said as he walked out of the the kitchenet.

 

Judy froze when she saw Nick coming towards her with two plates. He was barechested, only wearing pj pants and nothing more. She could see his muscled chest covered in red and white fur. The muscle he gained from his time at the academy were well defined and could be seen through his chest fur. Judy blushed and quickly looked away trying to not stare at his powerful chest… She was having difficulty doing so.

 

Nick mentally smiled when he saw the effect he was having on her but he didn’t make any attempt to make it known he noticed. Maybe there was hope after all…

 

He sat on the couch next to her and handed her a plate. She started going at it like if there was no tomorrow.

 

“Whoa, calm down carrots you don’t need to it eat so fast.”

 

“Mmmh Nick! This is really good.”

 

“Well, what can I say, I’m a culinary genius.”

 

“And a modest one at that.”

 

They both laughed and went back to their plates. Judy almost dropped a bit of syrup on Nick’s couch, but she managed to prevent it. However it gave her an idea and a mischievous one at that. She soaked a bit of carrot bread with as much syrup as she could before using her fork to lift it. She then made a paw gesture towards Nick just in the right way to get syrup on him.

 

“Damn it carrots! My fur is going to be all sticky now, I have to wash it off…”

 

“Tetete, don't you remember our bet?”

 

Nick’s eyes widened as he realised what had just happen. She had done this on purpose.

 

“Sly bunny.”

 

“Dumb fox.”

 

She looked way too proud of herself right now and Nick promised to himself he would have to get back at her one day.

 

Judy finished her plate in no time while Nick barely had eaten half of his.

 

“Common Nick I don’t want to be late to the precinct.”

 

“Do all bunnies have bad memories? I told you Bogo gave us the day off.”

 

“Yeah but I want to be there when the guys interrogate the suspect we caught yesterday. Plus, think of it as extra time, who knows we might get a promotion." She said obviously not expecting one.   
  
"You're serious there carrots?"   
  
"Listen, if you want to stay here and sit on your ass all day, thinking how I was right and you were wrong about the game, feel free to do so. I am going to be at the police station having fun with our suspect."   
  
Judy knew that his mind was already made up. He may not like it, but she knew that if she would be on duty, he would be too. They were partners, they never let eachother down. That and she knew that he too really wanted to know what the moose knew and where had gone the one who escaped.

 

“Sigh. Okay I guess we could go to the precinct today.”

 

“Great! I need to go to my house, grab my stuff and take a shower. Maybe you should do the same… Oh wait…” She looked at Nick with a large grin. She was so proud of herself.

 

**_~Damn is she cute when she smiles._ **

 

“So…” She continued “You want to stay here and meet at the station or are coming with me at my place?”

 

Nick almost choked on his carrot bread right then.

 

“Mmgh, sorry you said what?”

 

“Do you want to come with me or stay here? It’ll be a less boring ride if you come with me.”

 

Nick had to stop himself from sounding too desperate.

 

“Yeah I guess you’re right, I’ll come with you. Just let me finish eating my breakfast you over excited bunny.”

 

Nick went back to his plate silently while Judy laid on her back. She was staring at the ceiling like it would reveal to her the mysteries of the universe.

 

“You know…” She started still looking up. “Last night was fun. We should do stuff like this more often you know. Hanging out like friends usually do.”

 

“You know…” Nick said only pausing to take another bite. “The Snows may have one the game, but the series aren’t over yet. We can do this for the other matches until one of the teams move to the cup. I am still ready to bet the Boggies are going to win next match, they just had some bad luck it’s all.”

 

“Ah Nick you don’t know when to stop do you? Fine but you know for the next times you don’t have to go so much out of your way for me.”

 

Nick frowned and turned to her.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean…” She rose up and got right next to Nick who was now seemingly paralyzed. She put her mouth right next to his ear and her breath send shivers through his spine. “That I can see your dirty laundry peeking out from under your closet’s door.”

 

**_~Sigh. Well f*** me._ **

 

“I am afraid officer… That I have no idea what you are talking about.”

 

“We can always open the closet’s door and see.”

 

“You need probable cause for that.”

 

They laughed it off and Nick finished eating breakfast and went to his room to change himself. Meanwhile, Judy couldn’t stay in place so she decided to wait for Nick outside.

 

When she got out, she found herself face to face with an old vixen looking straight at her.

 

“Who are you?” she snapped.

 

“Oh hi I’m…”

 

“Did you break into Nicholas’s home?”

 

“What? No I…”

 

“If you did any wrong to my Nicholas… I swear I will personally see that every bone in your body get’s turned into…”

 

“Get your claws back in there you wild cat.” Came the familiar voice from behind Judy.

 

Nick was standing there with his familiar grin. Obviously he wasn’t mad at the person who had just threatened Judy, she would even say he was amused.

 

“Judy, this is Ms.Stutton my neighbour and the most gorgeous vixen on this side of Zootopia.”

 

The old vixen shrugged his comment with the movement of a paw.

 

“Ms.Stutton, this is Judy my partner and best friend.”

 

“Hi.”

 

The stoic visage of Ms.Stutton melted into a more friendly one.

 

“Well any friends of Nicholas are friends of mine.” She said. However she closed the distance between her and Judy. “What I said about hurting him still applies though…”

 

Even though Ms.Stutton was an elderly lady, she could still be terrifying.

 

“Do you two want some cookies?” She said her friendly gesture coming back to her.

 

“No thanks mom we have to go, bye.”

 

Nick pressed Judy to follow him to the bus stop.

 

“My uniform is sticking to my chest because of you. It feels horrible.” He said

 

“Was that your mother?” She asked ignoring his previous comment.

 

“No, but she’s the closest thing I have to one.”

 

“What about your real mother?”

 

Nick swallowed loudly and diverted his gaze.

 

“I rather not talk about that now carrots.”

 

“Oh Nick I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…”

 

“It’s fine.” He cut her now looking at her. “ It’s fine. I just need more to drink before I can talk about it.”

 

Silence fell between them as they waited for the bus that would get them to Judy’s apartment. Nick never really talked about his past or his family. Only once did he opened up to her and it was the time he had told her about his junior scout experience. Judy was sure that it was only the tip of the iceberg in the matters of childhood nightmares he had decided to hide behind a wall of sarcasm. Sometimes she just wanted to hug the truth out of him, but she didn’t know how he would react to that.

 

She still found herself lucky to be so close to him though. He had become her closest friend, closer than anyone she had ever been with at the farm too. She was also ready to bet that he had never opened up to Finnick or any of his con buddies like he did with her. She was glad she had him, Zootopia would have felt a lot lonelier without him.

 

The bus ride was a normal one. They sat next to each other at the back and talked about little things all the way there. Once they arrived, Judy showed Nick her apartment block. Nick couldn’t help but notice how close to each other every apartment doors was. Were they all so small? Judy stopped in front of her door and unlocked it.

 

“So you want to come in?” She asked looking at him.

 

“Don’t you want some privacy to change yourself?”

 

“I don’t even have my own shower. I’ll just take my clothes and my shower kit and I’ll go to the shared showers. You can wait in here while I do that.”

 

“Oh… Okay…” Nick seemed almost disappointed but Judy thought nothing of it.

 

When he entered into her apartment, slash prison cell, slash closet, he was baffled by the size of it.

 

“Wow this place is tiny!”

 

“Yeah you tell me about it.”

 

“How can you even live here without losing your mind?”

 

“Well I do come close to it from time to time…” She said jokingly “but a good day at work usually calms me down.”

 

“So you work to calm yourself?”

 

“Yeah pretty much.”

 

“You’re crazy.”

 

“Whatever Nick, just stay here I’ll be back.”

 

On that note, Judy left leaving Nick alone in her room. He sat on the tiny bunny size bed and looked at the tiny bunny sized furniture. Nick couldn’t imagine himself having to live here. If the furniture had to be his size, there would be barely any breathing room left.

 

“Hey, Nick is it?”

 

**_~Did the wall just talk?_ **

 

“Are you the bunny’s boyfriend or something?”

 

**_~Wow the wall is really blunt._ **

 

“Hey it’s non of your business who he is so why don’t you shut up!” Came another voice from the wall.

 

These must be Judy’s infamous neighbour she was so fond off.

 

“You shut up!”

 

“No you shut up!”

 

“You guys must be the  Oryx-Antlerson brothers Judy told me about.” He said through the wall, interrupting their fight.

 

“Yeah she talked about us?”

 

“Because she never said anything about her boyfriend.”

 

“That's because I'm not her boyfriend… nor is anyone matter of fact.”

 

“Wait… you’re name is Nick…” One of the brothers said. “You’re her partner aren’t you?”

 

“Yeah, she talked with her parent about her partner named Nick once.” Said the other brother.

 

“Yep. I’m the fox in question.”

 

“Wait, you’re a fox?” Both of them spoke at the same time.

 

“She never told her parents I was a fox!”

 

“Nah man.”

 

“Well… What did she told them about me?”

 

Nick could almost hear them smile on the other side of the wall. They did however told him what she said. Both side were discussing when Judy came back in her uniform, her fur still a bit wet.

 

“I see you met my nosy neighbours.”

 

“We can hear you!”

 

“That’s the whole point!” She yelled at the wall.

 

“Oh yeah right.”

 

“Hahaha you idiot.”

 

“Oh you shut up!”

 

“No you shut up!”

 

Judy rolled her eyes as the brothers started to scream at each other once again.

 

“Lovely people.” Said Nick with his usual grin.

 

This made Judy laughed. She dropped her bathroom kit and passed her towel over her ears one last time before turning back to him.

 

“So, you’re ready to go?”

 

“Just waiting for you… as usual.”

 

“Oh please…” She said “Like if you were the ‘always ready’ one of us.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said as they walked out of the small room.

 

They walked to the police station since it was so close to where she lived. They finally arrived in the lobby a bit past noon, both laughing loudly after one of Nick’s joke.

 

Clawhauser looked at the laughing duo with a puzzled look.

 

“Hey guys! I thought Bogo had gave you two the day off.” Said the fat chetta

 

Judy was about to response but Nick beat her to it.

 

“Carrots over here couldn’t wait to work again.”

 

“Okay, I can see that. But why are you here Nick?”

 

It was now Judy’s turn to have a smug look on her face. She knew Nick couldn’t have let her work without him, and she knew he was too proud to admit it. She was curious to see what he would say to save himself.

 

“Well there as to be someone with her to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.”

 

Humor… of course he was going to dodge the question with humour.

 

“Okay, but don’t expect Bogo to be happy to see you working today.”

 

“Just tell him we’ll do it for free today.” Judy said. “Oh and Clawhauser…”

 

“Hmhmm?”

 

“Do you know if the guys in investigation interrogated the suspect yet?”

 

“No, in fact I haven’t seen them walk out of their office for a while now.”

 

“Thanks, see you later…” she said as she hopped excitedly towards the investigation office.

 

Nick followed her from behind. He couldn’t help but think she looked cute, which disturbed him. He knew that having a serious relationship with her was impossible. Not only because they were different species, but also because workplace romance wasn’t allowed. He would have to be satisfied with just being friends because life was a dick to him as usual.

 

When they entered the office, both Coon and Porkins were sleeping on their desk, using files as makeshift pillows.

 

Nick cleared his throat.

 

No responses.

 

He cleared it harder.

 

Nothing

 

“Hum guys!”

 

“Hun! Hu! What!” Coon’s head shot up.

 

He had dilated pupils and rapid breathing meaning they had just woke him up from a dream. Porkins on the other paw slowly raised from his slumber. He still had a sheet sticked to his forehead from where he had been laying his head.

 

When Coon saw who was the intruder, his eyelids relaxed and became more narrow.

 

“Oh, hey guys.” He said in a sleepy tone.

 

“What were you doing? Besides from sleeping on the job of course.” Asked Judy with a smile.

 

Coon completely ignored her joke, like if he didn’t even heard it.

 

“Well we were getting all we could find on the suspect for the interrogation.”

 

“So you haven’t interrogated him yet?” Asked Judy hopeful at seeing it from the observation room behind the one-way glass.

 

“Hum? Ho, no no… What time is it?” Coon asked obviously very tired.

 

Nick looked at his phone to see the time.

 

“Quarter past noon why?”

 

“Sigh. You know what... screw this, I’m going home.”

 

“Yeah me too.” added Porkins.

 

“Wait hold on!” Said the desperate bunny. “You can’t go. We came today just to see the interrogation.”

 

“Listen Hopps, it has been two days since I last slept in a bed or for more than two hours. I’m too tired to interview a suspect right now.”

 

“Yeah same here.” Added Porkins.

 

“But… but… but…”

 

“Listen, if you guys want too you can do the interview I really don’t care.” Said Coon while stood up from his chair.

 

“Wait, what really?”

 

“Yeah, we just finished the files. Everything you need is in there. But right now I am way too exhausted from finding the crime scene.”

 

“You never did tell us how you found it.” Said Nick

 

“Yeah well another time. I’m calling a cab I can't drive right now. Have fun guys, we’ll read your report tomorrow.”

 

Coon and Porkins stumbled out of the office leaving Nick and Judy speechless.

 

“Well… I guess we better take a look at those files.”

 

The files Coon and Porkins made were thorough. Everything they needed to know to make their suspect crack was there. Once they felt confident, they went to the small cells in the precinct. The guards were confused for a moment not to see the usual investigators but they didn’t think much of it. They had the guards put the moose in the interrogation room.

 

Before they entered, Nick stopped Judy.

 

“So how do you want to do this?”

 

“What?”

 

“Here’s what I propose. We do good cop bad cop.”

 

“Ok…”

 

“I’ll be bad cop.” They both said at the same time.

 

“Yeah good one carrots. Like you could be bad cop.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

Judy had her paws curled up in balls to her hips. Her right foot was tapping angrily on the ground. She looked up at him with an annoyed look on her face.

 

“You have to face the facts fluff. You’re a cute little bunny and I’m a big bad predator. Nobody is going to take you seriously as the bad cop.”

 

“Continue like that Wilde and you’ll see that this cute little bunny as a dark side.”

 

“So you do admit that you’re cute and it’s not just a stereotype.”

 

“Shut up Nick!” She said with a smile.

 

They entered the interrogation room where they found the moose paw-cuffed to the table on the other side of them. Judy sat down in front of him, while nick simply sat on the corner of the table. The moose was much larger than them, but he did his best to seem intimidating.

 

“Good afternoon Mr.Bullwinkle. I am officer Judy Hopps and this is officer Nick Wilde. We would like your help on solving a case please.” Judy said in happy cutey tone to match her “good cop” character.

 

“I want a lawyer!” Snapped the moose.

 

“Yeah well you already fired the lawyer we gave you after he recommended you to plead guilty.” Came the harsh reply from Nick.

 

“We could always call him back if you’d like…”

 

“Shut up fuzzy tail, I’m not talking to you.”

 

Judy’s expression went dark with rage.

 

“OKAY THAT’S IT! I’m not doing this good cop bad cop bullshit so you better start talking now big slack.”

 

It didn’t seem to bother her that the moose was several time larger than her, she looked like she could eat him whole.

 

“I ain’t done nothing.” Said the moose firmly but less aggressively.

 

“OH YEAH! What about assault on police officers?”

 

The moose crossed his arms and laid back in his chair.

 

“I thought you guys were burglars.”

 

“Ah… You heard that Nick, he thought we were burglars… So that’s why he attacked us with the murder weapon that was used to kill both Po and Mc.Arfur…”

 

At the same time, Nick placed photos of the victim's body on the table.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“You see…” Said Nick “Both of our victims bared claw marks so similar, that they have to come from the same source…”

 

“Well I don’t have claws if you hadn’t noticed.”

 

“No, but what you did have his metal claws you used to attack ZPD officers, that match exactly the claws our attacker would have had.”

 

The moose started to get visibly nervous.

 

“S-So… Other people could have similar claws.”

 

“Yeah, like your brother.” Said Judy.

 

The moose turned toward her with a panicked expression.

 

“We found a similar claw in the alley he fled in.”

 

“Except that he isn’t really your brother is he” added Nick.

 

Their suspect now looked at him confused, so he explained.

 

“We were able to get pawprints on the weapon to identify him. Your shop banner claims that you are the Bullwinkle brothers but his last name

is Thidwick.”

 

He looked depressed at the realisation the ZPD knew so much about them. Seeing that this had effect on him, Nick pushed even more.

 

“Let me make a guess, and stop me if this sounds familiar. Once upon a time there were two orphan little mooses…” At the same time, Judy took out the orphanage files they had found on them. “The two boys were not of the same mother, but since none of them ever knew who gave birth to them, they considered themselves as brothers. Those two boys didn’t want to be adopted because they already had all the family they needed. And so once they came to legal age, they were released from the orphanage with big dreams of taking over the city together. One problem though… What’s the place in Zootopia for two lonely mooses? Money was short but you managed to get by. After a couple odd jobs here and there you managed to save enough to buy an old local. Then the two dreamers could continue to pursue their dreams and decided to start a dry cleaning business, thinking that this was their big breakthrough. Only whoops! The world is a hard place and they found himself back into the bottom of the pit.”

 

The moose was now positively panicked. Nick knew he had touched something.

 

“This is where I would like you to clear things up for me. How does those two brothers came to the point of committing a double murder from being bankrupt?”

 

“Still doesn’t mean we killed them.”

 

“Well, you see…” interrupted Judy “We found two body suits in a closet in the back store.”

 

“So? We use them for cleaning.”

 

“Except that you also used them to prevent from shedding on the bodies or the crime scene. We found the fur of both of our victims on them, as well as your own.”

 

The moose in front of them couldn’t speak. He was gazing back and forth between the both of them, his mouth open but unable to utter a word.

 

“It’s over.” said Nick. “Assault on two officers and double murder… It looks like life sentence to me… and not in a cozy prison at that. What do you think carrots?”

 

“Yeah I doubt he’ll make it one day in the maximum security jails. However, there could be ways to lighten the sentence… maybe with better holding conditions.”

 

“But for that you’d need to help us… If you can tell us where your partner could be hiding we’ll recommend a lighter sentence for you.”

 

The panicked and scared expression of the criminal turned into a darker one before he started laughing.

 

“Ha! You want me to turn against them! Never.”

 

“Wait.” Said Nick confused. “You said them?”

 

The moose was now back to a panicked state as he realised he had just let something important slip out.

 

“Mr.Bullwinkle, how many people are involved in this mammalicide?”

 

“I’m not telling you anything.”

 

The moose crossed his arms once again and turned his head away from the officers. He truly wasn’t going to talk. No matter how much they threatened him with worst prison condition or how much the bunny became angrier (turns out, Judy made a terrifying bad cop), he wouldn’t give anything away.

 

“You might as well put me in prison directly I’m not saying anything.”

 

“Officer Hopps could I talk to you privately a moment?” Nick asked her.

 

They both got out to the observation room where they could keep an eye on the suspect through the one-way glass.

 

“What are you thinking?” Asked Nick.

 

“I don’t know, I’m a bit confused. At first we thought there was only one killer, then we found out that the claw marks were due to a special knife. So then we assumed there were two killers, him and his fake brother. But now there is even more!”

 

“Yeah, what I don’t understand is how it all comes up. What’s the link between two dry cleaners and Mc.Arfur tailing his boss?”

 

“You think that Clawson hired those guys to take out Arfur because he was afraid he would discover something?”

 

“Maybe, but why them? And what’s Po got to do with all of this? And what about their little secret club?”

 

“We should dig into Mr.Clawson, find what Arfur was looking for. Maybe if we can expose him he’s going to connect the dots for us. In the meanwhile we can arrest him for assault on law enforcement and hold the murder case open until we got what we want.” Said Judy.

 

“Yeah let’s do that.”

 

**…**

 

Coon and Porkins sat at the table in front of the mosse. They felt much better after their good night sleep. They stared at the suspect for a while without saying anything.

 

“What do you want?” Said angrily the moose.

 

They kept staring at him without uttering a single word.

 

“I already told the two other officers yesterday to fuck off, you’re not going to get anything more out of me.”

 

Coon slammed a photo on the table for Bullwinkle to see.

 

“We know Mr.Bullwinkle. We know…”

 

The moose went quiet.

 

“You see…” Continued Coon “Our friends yesterday offered you more cozy accustomation. We want to offer you something much more valuable.”

 

Silence fell in the room.

 

“Protection.”

 

“P-Protection?”

 

“Yes.” Coon said. “What do you think they are going to think when they hear that you have been arrested?”

 

“They are going to believe that you started talking.” Answered Porkins.

 

“But… but I… I didn’t say anything.”

 

“Is that what they are going to believe? You’re a loose end, they will want to take care of you.” 

Said Coon. “But we can prevent that from happening. We’ll give you absolute protection in exchange for some information. What do you say?”

 

They both looked at him with a satisfied smile on their face. The moose looked back at them terrified. He was stuck in a corner here. His mind raced to find a way out but none came to him.

 

“Fine I’ll cooperate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I said… I am going away for a bit more than a week therefore I hope this chapter was enough for you to last until two weeks from when this is released. Either way, don’t forget to comment if you have anything to say, input is always appreciated.


	6. Cops and assasins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back! And in strength. This chapter is a BIG one, not only in length but in importance for the plot. In fact, I would say that if you were to divide this whole story in three acts, this would mark the end of act one. Not that the acts are of similar size or anything, but that one of the most important event happens in this chapter. So I decided to make it almost double the size. Well, since it’s so long I’m going to leave you to it. Enjoy!

 

“No I don’t have a problem with it, I can manage it. But… You are asking me to kill two ZPD officers, so you have to expect an extra.”

 

…

 

“Good, you know where to put the money.”

 

…

 

“Well then consider it done.”

 

He hung up the phone and smiled to himself. This was going to be one of the more interesting contracts, and he loved it.

 

He went to his “toy rack” to fetch his tool of predilection for this contract. A 9mm lethal ballistic weapon, the like they didn’t make or sell anymore. To top it off, it was equipped with a silencer that would allow for a silent kill.

 

Yes this was going to do the job.

 

**…**

  
  


“Nicholas Wilde!” Exclaimed the barista.

Nick was waiting in line at the local Snarlbucks when he heard his name. He went to the counter from where it had been called. The young vixen serving there gave him a smile before handing him his order.

 

“Let’s see Wilde… We have a dark coffee as usual, and… Oh what is this, a vanilla frappuccino. Might I ask for whom?” She said with playful smile.

 

“Oh, just a girl I know.” He replied teasingly as he took the two cups. “Thanks Stace.” 

 

Stace was the nickname he had given to Stacy, the vixen Snarlbucks barista in his part of town. Stacy was always happy to see him and always treated him good too, which made a good change from most of the mammals in this city.

 

“Well she has great tastes, vanilla frappuccinos are my favorite.” She said as she supported her head with her arms while leaning on the counter.

 

“I know.”

 

“Do I know her?” She asked eyes full of hope.

 

“I doubt it.” He said oblivious to what the vixen was hinting to.

 

“Oh.” She suddenly seemed genuinely disappointed and Nick couldn't tell why. “It’ll be 10 zoobucks.”

 

Nick gave her the money and left with a large smile on his face. He liked Stacy, she was always so cheerful. However she did seem to get a bit sadder at the end of their conversation. Was it something he said?

 

“Dumb fox.” She whispered as he left.

 

Nick took the rest of his usual bus ride all the way to the police station. When he entered he was greeted by his favorite little bunny. She always waited for him in the morning before they got to the bullpen.

 

“Hey Nick!” she said waving her little paw in the air to signal him.

 

Her eyes stopped to the two coffee cups he was holding.

 

“You bought coffee?” She asked him.

 

“Yeah I thought I could buy Clawhauser coffee to thank him for everything he’s done.”

 

Nick was thankful for his pair of aviator glasses since it helped to keep his poker face on.

 

“Wait, you bought Clawhauser coffee but not me!”

 

Yep! No, the look on her face was too much, so much for the poker face.

 

Nick started laughing which made Judy realised she just had been played by Nick… Again.

 

“Oh har har, laugh it up slick.” She said her right foot thumping the ground angrily.

 

“Oh you bunnies, so gullible.”

 

He handed over to her the frappuccino.

 

“Plus if I wanted to thank Clawhauser, I would have bought him donuts.”

 

“Did somebody say donuts?” Came the voice of the cheetah from the reception desk.

 

Both of them started laughing at the timely input from their fat friend.

 

“No but seriously, I just ran out of donut!”

 

They laughed even more and Judy took a sip.

 

“Mmmh! How did you know I drank vanilla frappuccinos?”

 

“Gut feeling.”

 

Judy cocked an eyebrow and put her weight on one leg. She looked at him with a smile as if he was some sort of walking joke.

 

“Nicholas Wilde! Have you been surveying what I’ve been eating and drinking?” She said playfully.

 

“Nah. A cute little bunny like you simply screams vanilla frappuccino.”

 

The truth was Nick had indeed watched what she was eating and drinking. He had also watched the way she breathed, the way she sighed when the amount of paperwork was too big and she had been away from field action for too long. Truth be told, Nick felt like he had done nothing other than watching her when she wouldn’t look for the past two days, ever since he had that dream. 

 

Yesterday for example, Nick hadn’t been able to focus on his shift because of her. Coon and Porkins had taken the day off to recover from their endless hours of work and while they were away, Nick and Judy weren’t allowed to work on the case. So Bogo had them go on patrol around savannah central. Even though Nick was supposed to keep his eyes on the road to catch any speeders, he wasn’t able to look at anything else than her. The way her eyes were scrutining the road, the look on her face as she focused on being the best officer the ZPD ever had.

 

Thinking about it, Nick had started to steal glimpses from her even before that time. Only then, he wasn’t so self aware. The furthest he could think of when he started to look at her that way was after his graduation from the academy. After the nighthowler case, as named by the media, he and Judy had stayed best friend. It was not long until he decided to join the force as he had originally planned before the interview fiasco. During his time at the academy, he had been unable to see her like he did before. He had missed her like he didn’t think he could miss a mammal before he met her. She had gotten to him. Ever since he graduated, he had started to steal some glimpse of her without even knowing it. Only now, did he realise that this was a long time coming.

 

Nick of course knew that this was wrong. Not only were they not the same species and even prey and predator, but they were colleagues. Dating would be against work ethics, and even though he hadn’t memorized the rules like she did, he knew that a workplace relationship, especially one between partners, would force bogo to separate them or even worst, could get them fired. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Interspecies relationships were not well met by public opinion. Would they be to show affection in public, it wouldn’t be surprising to have a rock thrown in their general direction. He was used to morons with loud opinions hating his guts, he had learned to live with it because that’s what it meant to be a fox. But her, the worst she ever had to suffer was being called cute. There was no way Nick would ever let her suffer like he did.

 

However, as much as Nick wished he could just see her as a friend, he was unable to change how he felt about her. He had scolded himself many times over it in the past few nights, trying to convince himself with logical arguments that their relation could never be and he didn’t really love her, that he was just lonely. But in the end, all logical argument passed way over his head and the thought of being with anyone other than her disgusted him.

 

The worst part of this ordeal though was that he didn’t know how she felt about him. He had never seen her giving any hints about wanting something more from their friendship. There even was a good chance that she was against mixed species dating. Telling her how he felt might simply result in him destroying their friendship and Nick could no longer imagine his life without her as a friend. And yet every night when he went to sleep one thing remained…

 

Hope.

 

Fuck you hope, you little shit bag.

 

Every time Nick had hoped for something in his life, life would spit in his face. When he was little, he had hopped to be part of the junior scouts, guess where hope got him. He had hoped to make big hustles, living the big life and he ended up hustling pawpsicles. He had hoped his mother would… Well…

 

The important was that whenever Nick hoped for something, he would get the opposite. And he was not about to let that happen to him and Judy.

 

“Ni-ick! Hellooo!”

 

“Hen, what?” He said as he came back from his daydream.

 

“How much do I owe you?”

 

“Oh! Nothing, my treat.”

 

“No Nick I can’t...” She protested before getting shushed by a movement of Nick’s paw.

 

“Please, consider it as a surprise.”

 

Judy bit her bottom lips as something flashed through her eyes.

 

“Speaking of surprises, I have one for you. Close your eyes.”

 

“What?”

 

Nick might have questioned her, but he did as she asked without hesitation. He heard her fumble through her pockets to find something. Nick couldn’t help but feel thrilled at the prospect off…

 

“Okay open your eyes.”

 

He opened them.

 

_ PAFF! _

 

Before he knew what was going on, Nick saw flashes of color flicker in front of his eyes.

 

“SURPRISE! Happy birthday!”

 

He realised that the colors he saw moments before were glitters. She had just popped one of those ‘party poppers’ thingy.

 

“It’s not my birthday and you know it.” He said with a faked annoyed expression. He could never truly be annoyed at her, she looked way too darn cute for that.

 

“Do I know that? Well it looks like I didn’t.” She said with that new smug look of hers she had learned from him.

 

Of course she knew this wasn’t his birthday, she would never forget his birthday. Nick looked down at himself to see that he was covered in glitters and confetti. The later wouldn’t be so hard to get rid of, but only a good shower could vanquish the tyranny of the glitters sticking to his fur. And as luck would have it, this bunny in front of him recently prohibited him from taking any showers.

 

“And to think I bought you coffee…” Nick started as he got the most of the detritus off from his fur. “...you should be ashamed of yourself.”

 

“My offer to pay you back still stands.”

 

“Thanks carrots, but no thanks. I told you it was a gift.”

 

If Nick was going to have revenge, it would be by making her feel bad.

 

“However…” He started. “If you want to pay me back some way, there is something you could do for me.”

 

The grin on his face was making Judy uneasy. She did want to pay him back, but knowing Nick she might come to regret it.

 

“Spit it out slick!” She said squinting as if she could guess what he had planned from looking at him harder.

 

“So I was thinking…”

 

Nick thinking! That couldn’t possibly bode well for her.

 

“Since you know…”

 

Why was he so hesitant? Nick the slick hadn’t received his nickname for no reason. If he hesitated to say something, it usually wasn’t a good one.

 

“You did say the other day that we should do stuff together more often…”

 

Here it is. What twisted activity was he going to get her tangled into.

 

“That we could heu… I don’t know…”

 

Brace for it…

 

“Go eat somewhere… Together.” That last part was said in a whisper.

 

… What?

 

Judy almost went crossed eyed when he finished his sentence. Her mind drew a blank and she found herself unable to respond.

 

“Yeah why not.” She said nonchalantly after what seemed to be an eternity.

 

The words had escaped her mouth without her even noticing it at first. The response hadn’t came from her but she was thankful to which ever spirit within her had answered.

 

Yes dinner with Nick could be fun… As friends?

 

Nick’s face lit up when she answered.

 

“R-really? Great…” He stuttered.

 

Maybe she should reconsider his nickname.

 

“Did you have a place in mind?” She asked.

 

“Yeah, it’s not too far from here. Nice and cozy. So what say you if I come pick you up at 5?”

 

Nick had regained his usual cocky demeanor.

 

“Pick me up with what? You don’t own a car.”

 

“Don’t dig too deep in the details carrots. So what do you think?”

 

“Yeah! Five seems nice.”

 

She started smiling uncontrollably and so did he. They both faced each other with a grin that went from ear to ear without saying anything for a while.

 

They were comfortable like that.

 

“So… Do you or do you not have donuts?”

 

They both laughed and went to the bullpen.

 

**…**

 

The small mammal was in his car with his weapon by his side. Through his tinted windows, he was watching one of his targets. He had tailed him from his home to a local coffee shop. After a while, his target came out with two coffees in his paws. The second one was probably for his other target.

 

The assassin chuckled to himself. How easy would it be if he could just poison the coffees right there, right now. Alas, a bullet to the head would have to do.

 

He followed the same target all the way to the police station where he parked the furthest away he could while still having a line of sight to the entry.

 

He didn’t know when he would come out again, but he hoped it would be with his other target. It would be easier to take out the two with one stone, but whatever happened, he would kill them today, together or not.

 

**…**

 

When they entered the bullpen they were greeted by the gaze of a few of their co-workers. Nick assumed it was due to the new artificial shininess carrots had given to his fur. Some of them exchanged a chuckle as they walked past. They didn’t really gave any attention to it since they knew that about everyone in this room were teasers, although not nearly as much as Nick himself.

 

Although they had had a hard time at first, both of the ZPD’s smallest officers had come to be accepted by their peers. It had taken a slightly longer time for Nick than for Judy because of the untrustworthy reputation his species had. But in the end, most of the other officers had ended up seeing Nick has he truly was, the lovable class clown. Even Bogo had come to terms with accepting this new officer who’s one liners boarded insubordination from time to time. Heck, Judy thought that Nick might even be one of his favorites, even though he had refused to believe him in the nighthowler case only a few months ago only because of what he was. And now the two small mammals formed his best team (It did help that nobody but Judy knew about his criminal past, or at least had any proof of it).

 

“Partying hard last night Wilde?” Came the voice of Fangmeyer.

 

“Is there any other way to?”

 

A low chuckle spread through the small crowd as a few heads nodded in agreements.

 

“Say. If you’re so into partying, why don’t you join us tomorrow at Brandy’s watering hole? They’re having a police and firefighter night. Free drinks for us.” The wolf looked expectantly at him with a large smile. 

 

No one had yet seen Nick get properly drunk, and quite a few were wondering what it would look like. Try as they might, it had seemed as if the fox was barely affected by alcohol. In spite of his small size, they had only managed to get him tipsy. When they had asked him how he managed to do so, he simply shrugged and said that he wasn’t new to alcohol, which they had rightfully taken as a hint that his past involved a lot of drinking and to not ask questions about it.

 

“Thanks, but no thanks. I have already something planned tomorrow night.” Nick replied as he sat next to Judy.

 

“What? Are you seeing a girlllllll?” Said Trunkaby drawing the last syllable suggestively.

 

“Actually… I am.”

 

Whispers spread through the crowd accompanied by the occasional “oooo!”.

 

Nick had to repress the urge to look at Judy with his shit eating grin. From the corner of his eyes, he could see that she was blushing.

 

She couldn’t believe he had just gone ahead and said that. Of course he was joking, after all they were having dinner only as friends. Still she didn’t want the whole precinct to know. Why? She couldn’t say. Right now she was fighting the urge to punch him into sorryness right there.

 

“So…” Started Fangmeyer again. “Who’s the unlucky lady?”

 

If he was going to say one word, she would beat him up in front of everyone she sweared.

 

Nick started to open his mouth…

 

**~He better not!**

 

The first sounds barely started escaping his mouth before he was interrupted by a loud scream.

 

“ATTENTION!”

 

The chief entered the room as the focus went back to him.

 

Saved by the bell, or in this case the big angry cape buffalo.

 

“Today is a usual day so…”

 

The chief stopped mid-sentence when he looked up from his files. His face adopted a tired expression that seemed to say “what is it this time” when he saw Nick. The fox looked like a mess with his fur all roughed up and glitters all over him.

 

“Should I even ask Wilde?” He said in this accent of his.

 

“Please don’t.” Nick replied suddenly losing his cocky attitude.

 

Something passed through the chief's eyes. He had a mischievous idea of how to get payback on the fox for all the time he had put his authority in question with one of his distasteful joke.

 

“Alright then Wilde please enlighten us.”

 

Bogo leaned on the stand in front of him with a smile plastered across his face.

 

A sigh followed by a “really?” was Nick’s response.

 

He simply received a slow nod of the head and the cheers of all his colleagues.

 

“I bet on the Boogies and I lost.” He stated heads down.

 

“Ha! Rookie mistake!” Screamed Rinhowits.

 

“What are you talking about! The Boogies would have won if Ronaldo hadn’t been hurt!” Came the voice of Francine.

 

Other voices came from left and right as the room turned into a savage jungle.

 

“ENOUGH!”

 

Everyone went silent, intimidated by the powerful shout of the chief.

 

“This isn’t some sport bar or anything of the like so I better not hear one more word about the game! Am I understood?”

 

The screams of the chief had been sufficient to silence all mammals in the room.

 

“Yes sir!” Was the answer shared by all the officers in unison.

 

“Good.”

 

His facial expression relaxed as he went back to what was scheduled. As usual the chief handed over the assignments and as usual Nick and Judy were the last ones left.

 

“Officer Hopps, officer wilde…”

 

The chief took a moment to punctuate his sentence with the hanging silence.

 

“Officers, I’d like a word in my office. Now! Dismissed.”

 

All the other mammals rose up and headed towards the exit. Judy and Nick however, followed Bogo into his office through the door that directly connected the two rooms.

 

Bogo made them a sign for them to sit as he did so behind his office. As usual both officers shared one chair instead of taking the two. In this case they were grateful for it because whatever Bogo had called them to his office for probably wasn’t good. At least the proximity of each other would comfort them. They stared at his silently waiting for him to start.

 

“How is the case going?” He asked slowly.

 

“Heu sir… Our reports explain our progress very well I find. Is there a problem with them?” Asked Judy concerned.

 

“Yes I have read your reports, they are detailed but one thing is missing.” Silence fell has Nick and Judy were waiting for him to continue. They could only gulp as they waited for him to continue. “You have two suspects that were found with the weapons of the crime and have their fur in bodysuits which also has the fur of the victims, placing them on the scene of the crime. You caught one suspect and the other one is on the run and yet… The case is still open even though we know the identity of the killers.”

 

He used silence once again as a weapon to make both of them uneasy. They felt like both his words and the silence between them could cut like razor blades.

 

“Officers, my question is why is the case still open when a simple arrest warrant against the missing suspect would be enough.”

 

“Well sir there is something more…” Started Judy before she was cut off by a movement of the chief’s hoof.

 

“Something more that you didn’t bother put in your report and yet is still important enough for you to not close the case?”

 

Bogo gave them an accusing look before he moved on,

 

“I expect my officers to write full reports that detail the whole case. If something is affecting the progression of the investigation on any level, it should figure in both of your reports. So then what is it that is holding up?”

 

His voice had slowly risen up, while still not screams, every word of his was intimidating.

 

The two of them looked at each other for a moment as if to debate only using their eyes who would have the pleasure of explaining to the scary buffalo what was going on.

 

Judy decided to break the ice since she was the higher ranked (and possibly the bravest) of both of them.

 

“We think that Mr.Clawson, Arfur’s boss, might be involved somehow.”

 

“What makes you say that?”

 

It was Nick’s turn to interact.

 

“We think that Arfur was tailing his boss.”

 

Bogo turned to him even more annoyed than before.

 

“Again, I ask what makes you think that?”

 

“Well he frequented regularly a bar that had a direct line of sight into his office. The barmaid there said he came there with a camera from time to time and barely ever bought a drink.”

 

“So let me get this straight. You suspect his boss because he frequented a close by bar!?”

 

Said like that, Nick realised that it sounded ridiculous. Fortunately, Judy came to his rescue.

 

“Well sir, the present suspects lack motive and connection. We know they killed them but we still have no idea why. There's also no visible connection between the two victims other than a random tattoo. We wanted to wait until every hole in the case was filed before calling it a day.”

 

The chief seemed to ponder on the fact for a long time in silence before he finally spoke.

 

“Fine, I guess there is enough problems to keep the case open. BUT…”

 

The smile they both had adorned when he began his sentence faded as they waited for him to finish.

 

“If in three days you don’t find any evidences that would hold up in court I will personally close the case. You have three days to connect Clawson to any of this; meanwhile, you can go see the guys in investigation. Dismissed.”

 

Without even giving them another look, Bogo turned back to the files that were sitting on his desk. Judy and Nick rose up unceremoniously and proceeded to go join Coon and Porkins.

 

When they arrived in their office, they found both of them lounging in their chairs sipping coffee.

 

“If it isn’t the two mammals we wanted to see!”

 

“Why so happy Coon? Did Porkins finally accepted to go on a date with you?” Nick said mockingly.

 

The two investigators in front of him cocked an eyebrow and smirked in a way that seemed to mean “You’re the one talking?!”.

 

**~Shit! I can’t be that obvious can I?**

 

The important was that Judy didn’t seem to notice the look they shot at him nor did she noticed his expression suddenly turning to stone as he feared they understood how he felt about her.

 

“Anyways…” Porkins stretched the end of the word. “We wanted to talk to you guys.”

 

“About what?”

 

Nick’s answer still came too fast for his own like. He was desperately trying to regain his composure less he led Judy to remark something was wrong.

 

“About last night’s episode of Zootopia got talent. It’s about the case what do you think dummy.”

 

Although they hadn’t spent that much time together before this case, Coon was one of the first mammals to accept Nick in the force. He was similar to Nick when it came to teasing which had led to interesting back and forth in the past, all to the detriment of both Judy and Porkins. Coon was one of the rare mammals that could get away with calling Nick dumb, the others being Judy and Bogo but that was for different reasons.

 

“Hey! I’m not the one who thought that the spot on his fur were sort of birthmarks.”

 

“I was 10! But you, when you were 30 you still thought that…”

 

“Okay!” Interrupted Porkins with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “All of this is mighty funny and all but I really don’t care much for the thought of sitting there watching you two go at each other all day.”

 

Judy gave an affirmative nod of the head.

 

“Okay so what do you want to do?”

 

“Well I thought we should start by looking into Mr.Clawson’s involvement in this whole thing. There was a reason Arfur was following him and I am ready to bet it’s what got him killed.” Said Judy.

 

“Yeah plus, Bogo gave us three days to find a connection, otherwise he’s going to close the case and take the two mooses to court while letting Clawson go.” Added Nick.

 

“Wait Bogo is going to close the case?”

 

“Yeah, unless we find more evidences that is.

 

Coon and Porkins looked at each other in a way that clearly meant “Shit!”.

 

“Shit!” Added Porkins. “Okay let’s think about this. So a few weeks back, someone complained about the smell of a warehouse. When the patrol officers got there they found Po’s body already dead for quite a while.” 

 

“Mc.Arfur dies a significant amount of time after him, which means that Po’s death led to Arfur’s, so it wasn’t part of the original plan.” Judy took a pause to think before starting again. “So it first started by someone only wanting Po dead. Then, somehow the death of Po gave them a reason to want Arfur dead.”

 

“That doesn’t make sense.” Said Nick. “I can see the opposite. Arfur discovers something about his boss, follows him to get evidences, Clawson finds out and for some reasons hire two dry cleaners to take him out. However Arfur tells Po, his buddy in their tattoo club, and so they have to take out Po too. That would make more sense.”

 

“Well it isn’t what happened.” Interjected Coon. “Maybe that Po is the one who found out about Clawson’s hidden skeletons and then told his buddy that happened to work for him so that he could get evidences. This way, they found out that Po knows first and kills him. Then, they make the connection between Po and Arfur somehow, maybe because of the tattoo and kills him too.”

 

“That’s a good story but it’s still full of holes.” It was Porkins turn to chip in. “The tattoo was well hidden for a reason, I doubt that Clawson would have seen it on Arfur before. Also, why the hell would Clawson hire drycleaners to do the job? And how did he even know about Po’s existence in the first place, the guy was basically a ghost.”

 

“Whatever it is, all those theories are centered around the fact that Clawson has something to hide. There must have been a reason for Arfur to follow him and that’s what we need to find.” Judy said.

 

“Yeah well that’s the end goal. Right now we simply need to link him to the murders before Bogo closes the case. I say that if we find the photographs or any evidences Arfur got of his boss, that will definitively make him a person of interest and Bogo will have to keep the case open.” Said Nick. “By the way, did you guys find anything that could point to Clawson in Arfur’s apartment?”

 

The two investigators got a bit more tensed but they did their best to hide it.

 

“No.” They lied.

 

“But his apartment had been sacked remember. Maybe that the killers found the evidences and took them.” Continued Coon. “And since they weren’t at the dry cleaner, they might be at whichever kind of safehouse our missing suspect fled to. Either way, we have a killer on the run so we should focus on finding him first, then connect Clawson to the case.”

 

“We read your reports.” Stated Porkins. “Looks like you didn’t have too much luck getting information on the whereabouts of our fugitive from his friend.”

 

They both shook their heads from side to side as a sign of their failure to get more information.

 

“Tell you what. Coon and I are going to go check if we have more luck, meanwhile you two can try to come up with more leads to connect Clawson to this mess.”

 

“Yeah fine I guess we can do that, but I doubt you’ll get anything more out of him than we already did.” Said Nick as the two investigators began to walk towards the exit.

 

“We’ll show you how the pros do it.” Responded Coon with a large grin.

 

When they passed the doors of the office, they took a left into a more remote part of the precinct.

 

“Okay so they don’t know we were here yesterday and they don’t know we already interrogated the guy, so we’ll have to waste some time a bit.” Said Coon.

 

“When are going to tell them? It’s getting hard to always circumvent the question. The longer we wait the bigger the shit storm is going to be when we finally come out.”

 

“Don’t worry, I have a plan. After today we’ll know for sure and then we can tell them.”

 

“What do you mean you have a plan? What is it?”

 

Coon looked around to make sure they were still alone. They were which wasn’t surprising since they chose to talk here in the first place for the isolation of this part of the building.

 

“Okay listen closely…” He said with a smile, obviously happy of how clever he thought his plan was.

 

Nick and Judy were left in the office all alone.

 

“So what do you think?” Asked Judy.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“About Coon’s theory. That Po found out something shady about Clawson and then went to Arfur.”

 

“Don’t know, it still has a lot of holes.” He reached a paw around his head to scratch the back of his neck. “How did Po found out anything in the first place? He’s not remotely connected to the ZMB. And it would just happen that another member of their weird tattoo club works for them. That’s too convenient if you ask me. And then there is the two mooses. Why would they hire dry cleaners to kill them and not actual hitmammals? I think we’re missing something important.”

 

“Yeah but what?

 

They both pondered for a while. Whatever it was they were missing, it had to be big. If only they added sufficient evidences against Clawson, maybe they could get him in and question him. They might be able to get some answer from him. Although thinking about it, he would probably have an army of lawyers covering his ass.

 

After a while, Coon and Porkins came back in the office looking victorious.

 

“I take it you manage to crack him?” Said Nick with an incredulous look on his face.

 

“Of course we did! I can’t believe you doubted us.” Responded Coon.

 

“What! How did you do it?”

 

Judy couldn’t believe it took them only twenty minutes to crack him. Nick and her had tried for more than an hour and all they got in return was silence.

 

“I’ll show you the tapes when we’re done. Like that you’ll be able to learn from the best.” Coon said with a large smile. “In the meanwhile, if you want a resume, let’s just say that your deal wasn’t sweet enough.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Tell me, in what paw did he have the metal claws in?”

 

“I don’t know why?”

 

“It was the right paw. Which means that it’s his friend that gave the killing blow. We proposed to give him the status of accessory to murder, and not of full blown killer which means he wouldn’t have to put up with prison for life.”

 

It was a half-truth. The suspect they apprehended was in fact right-pawed and his friend must have been the one who gave the killing blow. However, they didn’t get what they wanted that way. No, they offered him and his friend once they would catch him, protection. But that, Judy and Nick wouldn’t know. At least not right now. If everything went according to plan they would be able to tell them tonight.

 

“Wait! You let him off the hook! How could you, he is a killer!”

 

“Calm down Hopps, we only suggested that. We didn’t actually officially said we would give him the status.”

 

“Wait you can do that?”

 

Nick chuckled at how naive she was.

 

“It’s called a hustle sweetheart.” He said. “They hustled him.”

 

It was Porkins’s turn to chuckle at what Nick said.

 

“That sounds like what a con man would say, but yeah we hustled him.”

 

“So where is he, the missing moose?”

 

Coon took the lead and took out a piece of paper.

 

“That's the problem, there is two places he could be hiding in.”

 

He put down the paper for all of them to see. It had two addresses scribbled by hand on it.

 

“They had two places they could fall back if they were to get into trouble. One is a cottage in Tundra town, the other is a warehouse in the docks. Porkins and I are going to go to the dock while you guys can go to the cottage.”

 

They agreed and started walking out to tell Clawhauser they would be needing two cruisers. However they remarked that Porkins had stayed behind and was now on his computer.

 

“Porkins, you’re coming?” Nick asked with a movement of the paw to incite him over.

 

“Yeah he is just getting us the warrant we need. Common let’s go.”

 

“Wait shouldn’t it be you Coon that needs to do that? You’re the one in charge.”

 

“Ha it doesn’t really matter, he can also do it.”

 

Nick frowned. He was sure that only the lead investigator or the chief could fill in warrants. He simply shrugged and followed Coon and Judy out of the door to Clawhauser’s desk. The cheetah gave them the keys and made them sign a paper. Nick would never have guessed the amount of paperwork that came with being a cop.

 

Speaking of paperwork, Porkins quickly joined them with the warrants in hand. He sure was fast to fill in those.

 

**…**

 

It had been a few hours now that the hitmammal was waiting in his car at a reasonable distance from the police station. He was really starting to get bored when they finally came out.

 

Four officers in two cruisers. His two targets were fortunately in the same one. He started the engine and proceeded to follow them at a distance. Then at a certain intersection the two cruisers parted ways and he followed the one containing his targets. The fact that they didn’t have backup would only make this easier.

 

After a while he recognised where they were going.

 

Yes this was going to be so easy. They practically handed this contract on a silver plate.

 

**…**

 

Judy was the one driving as usual. At first it was because she was the only one of them who had a driving license. Nick’s family hadn’t much money when he was young. Buying a ranger scout uniform was a tight fit for them, so you could already forget buying a car. Judy on the other paw was raised on a farm. Her father probably taught her to drive a tractor when she was only twelve. Not that she ever confirmed that, but Nick guessed it was probably how it went. He did however take some driving class after he graduated from the academy because Judy had insisted that he should be able to drive if she couldn’t for some reason. Nick had taken the class only for her because he did not care about the idea of driving. So even after he got his licence from the DMV (it helps sometimes to have a friend there to make him cut the line) Judy had kept the role of driver.

 

Nick took another good look at her. Her eyes were focused on the road so she didn’t seem to realise he was staring at her, a thing for which Nick was thankful. As he looked at her for a countless time these past few days he felt a familiar feeling in his stomach. Nick dared to take a small whiff of her. She smelled so good it was unbelievable.

 

He cringed at the thought he just had and turned his head to the window. It was torture for him to be stuck in a car with her like this. Not because he didn’t like her but because he did too much. He had to restrain himself to not just leap at her and tell her how he felt, how he loved her…

 

He loved her.

 

Judy seemed to finally notice that something was wrong because she looked at him concerned.

 

“Nick are you alright?”

 

“Yeah why?” He lied.

 

“You just seem off.”

 

“Everything here is fine carrots no need to worry.”

 

His answer didn’t seem to satisfy her since she kept that concerned look on her face; however, she didn’t push any further. If Nick didn’t want to talk he didn’t want to talk, it was something she had learned a long time ago.

 

“You know you can talk to me right Nick?”

 

He chuckled and looked back at her.

 

“Yeah I know that thanks.”

 

It did little to appease her mind however. Usually he would close up on her when a delicate subject from his past rose up, but now he just did it for no apparent reason. That was scaring her.

 

Nick’s mind was running hot. Countless scenarios played in his head all at once as he tried to figure things out.

 

**~Maybe I should just tell her, she might feel the same.**

 

**~What if she doesn’t?**

 

**~What if she does?**

 

Nick look back out of the window and he could see snowflakes starting to fall. They had entered Tundra town. He didn't generally have fond memory of this place. His clash with Mr.Big was only one part of the whole variety of bad memories he had from this place.

 

He never liked it her, to cold and to merciless. When he ran the pawpsicles scam with Finnick, they used to spend as little time as they could here.

 

“Judy?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Do… Did you…”

 

“What is it Nick?”

 

“No nothing.”

 

“No Nick don’t you just start something and then cut me off. I’m your best friend, you can trust me.”

 

She looked at him with one of those look that just melted his heart. God was she cute. Why did everything have to be so complicated when it came to him? Why couldn’t everything be like in one of those child stories? Why could he not just tell her he loved her and then walk off into the sunset paw in paw as the credits rolled?

 

“I... I was wondering…”

 

Judy gave him a smile that simply said to continue. She was so patient with him, so gentle. He didn’t deserve her…

 

He didn’t deserve her. Not at all.

 

“I was wondering why you never told your parents I was a fox.”

 

It wasn’t what he wanted to say. He wanted to ask her out, properly not just as friends or colleague but as a date. He wanted to tell her how he felt but he could not bring himself to it…

 

Because he didn’t deserve her.

 

That said, it wasn't a lie. He did wonder why she never told them, although he had an idea.

 

“H-How…”

 

Her smiled had disappeared and was replaced by what seemed to be sadness… or guilt.

 

“Your neighbours told me.” He cut her.

 

“I’m going to kill those two.”

 

It managed to get a small laugh out of Nick, which was a small victory in itself. He did continue to look at her though and she knew she wasn’t off the hook that easy.

 

“Sigh. My parents… My parents aren’t exactly the most open minded people.”

 

Her ears drooped and she quickly turn to Nick.

 

“Not that they are bad people though they are good deep inside it’s just that…” She added not wanting him to get the wrong idea of her folks. “It’s just that they were the ones who gave me the fox repellent.”

 

It wasn’t a real explication of how they were but it did serve as a good example.

 

Nick slowly nodded his head. That was another reason to add to the list of why they could never be together he thought.

 

“They made some progress though.” She tried to fix the mess she had just made. “They are working with a fox now. Really it’s my fault I should give them more credits, it’s just that… I’m scared.”

 

“I understand.”

 

“Please Nick don’t be mad at me.”

 

Her eyes were big and her ears framed her head perfectly when she looked at him. How could he possibly ever be mad at her?

 

“I’m not mad at you fluff, it’s not your fault.”

 

“No Nick it is. I should already have told them. You’re my best friend and… and…”

 

The world seemed to stop for Nick as he waited for her to finish. His mind was already filling the gap how it wished she would: “and something more?”

 

“And if they can’t handle it too bad for them, because there is nothing that is going to prevent me from being with you… my best friend.” She added that last part quickly as she realised how it sounded.

 

“Thanks carrots.” Nick said after a silence. “Now focus on the road I don’t want to run over anybody today.”

 

Judy smiled. The fact that Nick went back to teasing her was a good sign. She loved this… LIKED… She liked this fox… as her best friend…

 

She was grateful that the slip was only mental and didn’t say it out loud.

 

The rest of the drive went as they usually do, with a lot of teasing.

 

They finally pulled up in front of the cottage, it was in a remote place. A dirt road led to it but they decided to take it on foot of fear to alert the hiding moose. Tranquilizer in paw, hiding behind bush for cover, they slowly made their way up the frozen dirt track.

 

They made the tour of the house to spot any exit or other entrances. After a short time they decided to enter by the back door. This way if the fugitive escaped through the front door, he couldn’t go hide in the forest that was behind the cottage. He would have to run down the dirt track which would give them a good line of sight to dart him.

 

They placed themselves on each side of the door and looked at each other.

 

“Ready?” Asked Nick.

 

Judy nodded and waited for Nick to open the door. With a swift kick the wooden door gave away to let the two officers pass.

 

“ZPD! GET ON THE GROUND!” Judy yelled as she entered.

 

No sound came back, but they didn’t let the silence fool them. It isn’t because nobody answers that there is nobody in the house. They swept the cottage room by room but in the end, they found no one.

 

“The house is clear.” Said Nick putting his weapon in his holster.

 

“Maybe he went out. Ventured for a walk in the wood or something.”

 

“Yeah well I wouldn’t bet on it.”

 

It was more probable that the fugitive was in the warehouse. However they couldn’t just assume it and leave the house. There was a possibility that he indeed went out, and so they decided to effectuate a search while they waited to have news from the guys.

 

Something on the desk that sat next to them caught Judy’s eyes. When she came closer to take a better look, she was baffled.

 

**…**

 

He couldn’t believe it. His two targets were not only together without backup, but they were leading him straight to where his bonus target was hiding. He could get the contract done and the extra all with one stone.

 

He got out of his car with his weapon in paw. He checked that the silencer was properly on and walked towards the building his targets had entered just moments before.

 

**…**

 

Judy walked over to what caught her eye. It was a photo that featured a family of pig.

 

That didn’t make sense. This cottage was supposed to belong to the moose brothers, then why was there a photo of a pig family? Coming to think of it, how did those two managed to buy a cottage if they were so low on money? Did they mistake the address?

 

Judy looked to the other photos that were not far from the first one. They all depicted the same family of three pigs. All except one…

 

One of the photos figured two pigs. The same piglet that were in the other photos, and a larger pig which did not figure in any of the other ones.

 

“Is that Porkins?!”

 

Nick came closer to Judy to look at the photo she was holding. Sure enough, Porkins was there holding the child a large smile plastered on his face.

 

“What is going on here? I’m radioing them.”

 

She took out her radio and called them.

 

“Coon, Porkins respond.”

 

Nothing…

 

“Coon, Porkins respond.”

 

Still nothing…

 

While she tried to reach them to no avail, Nick went around the house to find more information on why the hell there was a photo of Porkins here.

 

And then he saw something in the top corner of the room.

 

A camera.

 

Not one of those big surveillance one, no it looked more like the kind of thing overprotective parents put around the house to survey that the babysitter was doing a good job while they were away. Which would make sense considering that this house seemed to belong to a family. But there was something else...

 

It was on...

 

Nick could see the little light on the side of the camera that told him it was recording. Someone was recording them.

 

“Judy.” He called out to her.

 

When she turned back to look at him he simply pointed the camera with his paw.

 

“Coon, Porkins respond!”

 

She called them out over the radio with a new found energy.

 

“RESPOND!”

 

She now looked panicked.

 

“Get in the cruiser. We’re going to the docks.”

 

They wasted no time. They ran as fast as they could to the ZPD issued vehicle and the drove as fast as they could with the sirens on. They feared something might have happened to their colleagues and friends.

 

The drive there seemed to last forever even though in reality, it was incredibly short with the speed they were going at. They came to a screeching halt in front of the warehouse the suspect was supposedly hiding in. They noticed the empty police cruiser that was in front of the building, which meant that the guys hadn’t left yet.

 

They didn’t waste any time. With tranquilizer in paws, they entered the dimly light building.

 

“Coon! Porkins! Are you there?”

 

Silence.

 

They started to sweep through the warehouse that felt more like a maze with all these crates stacked up in a disorganized fashion. Judy was in front and Nick protected her back, but suddenly he bumped into her as she had stopped. When he looked at what made her halt, he ceased breathing.

 

They were both looking like they saw a ghost, all coloration fading from their skin only to be replaced by white.

 

Because in front of them laid the body of a dead moose…

 

Not only that, but there was a horrible swelling on the right flank of the body. There was also an entry wound from a lethal ballistic weapon in the middle of the head. A clean shot.

 

It drained the blood out of both Nick and Judy’s face when they saw it. Lethal weapons had been made illegal, and if someone had went through all the trouble of getting one on the black market, you knew that this person had no problem with using that weapon without even thinking about it.

 

They were stuck in a maze with a very dangerous mammal…

 

Suddenly the realisation that Coon and Porkins still hadn’t responded to their calls made them shiver. Judy worried that the worst might have happened. So they started moving again, faster than before in a desperate attempt to find the others before something happened to them.

 

Only they were too late…

 

Only a few meters further, around a corner was a sight that hit them in the gut harder than anything did ever before…

 

In front of them laid the lifeless body of investigators Coon and Porkins...

 

**…**

 

The assassin was taking a walk in the park amongst families and couples that were oblivious to his nature.

 

He walked to the designated tree and took out two green ribbons and tied them to a branch.

 

He had just given the signal that the contract was done and the bonus target was also dead.

 

This pay day was going to be a good one.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No he didn’t! Yes I did. It makes me sad to kill them off, I had enjoyed writing their characters but it was planned since day 1. So this is the end of act one (yes I am really going with the whole acts thing) and it’s going to affect the story in a major way. From what I have planned for the story, I think that act one is going to be the least interesting. I might change the format of the story and put out smaller chapters (instead of the usual 5k words one) from now on but I can’t say for sure. Really I'm just going to put them out as they go. In the next one we’re going to see how they handle this on a personal level and the chapter after that should answer a few questions about the case. Now I’ll leave you be so don’t forget to follow/favorite/bookmark/kudo and all of those shenanigans, depending on the site and comments are always appreciated even if they're not positive as long as they are constructive (although my ego does like when you compliment it)


	7. 99 bottles of beer part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I am glad to present to you fine ladies and gentlemans the second “fluff chapter”, only there is one thing… So I started to write this and all was going well until I realise it would be way too long for one chapter. So I decided to make it a two part thing. It does mean that I’ll have to delay the main plot another chapter, but if you ask me it’s worth it because I’m really liking how this chapter turned out. Bonus point, I already started working on the second part, so it should be out sooner. As always, enjoy!

Judy’s ears were ringing. She was unable to focus on what was going on around her. She was looking down in between her legs like a kit who was being scolded by her parents. Her mind was a blank and it took her a long time to realise that someone was speaking to her.

 

“Hopps, are you alright?”

 

She looked up to see the buffalo behind his desk. She tried to speak but her words were failing her, so she nodded instead even though she was far from alright. They had just found the dead bodies of their colleagues and friends, how was she supposed to be alright?

 

The chief wasn’t stupid. He knew that things were not okay and that she was deeply affected by the recent events. However, he didn’t try to contradict her, he knew better than that. So he looked at the both of them ready to continue his speech with, hopefully, the most of the attention he could get from them right now.

 

She remembered with a bitter taste the events of the last few hours. The first thing she had done when they found them was to run to their bodies and try to wake them up. She couldn’t accept the fact that they were dead, not like this, not so simply. Moments before, they were alive and well, even having a banter with Nick. And now they were dead. She still couldn’t grasp how simple it was, it had only taken a few pieces of lead to makes so that they would never see them again. That’s what she couldn’t grasp, how little it took to bring down so much.

 

In the meantime Nick had called for reinforcement. He had forced her to get up and had proceeded to search the building with her in the hope they could find who had killed them. Obviously, they found nothing in the building. When backup arrived, they proceeded to a large scaled mammal hunt in the area but they found nothing. Of course they found nothing, they didn’t know who they were looking for.

 

Nick and Judy had been called back to the precinct, while the technicians tried to capture as much as they could in photos and reports for later since there wasn’t any investigators to review them right now.

 

Once they arrived Bogo had told them to write a report of what had happened if they wanted to or just relax in the recreation room for a while. Meanwhile he had directly gone out to announce the death of Coon and Porkins to their close relatives himself. After that he had locked himself up in his office for four hours only doing paperwork and answering calls that probably came from city hall. It was three past noon when he finally came out and asked them to come in.

 

Now both of them sat in front of his imposing desk, both in the same oversized chair they shared. Judy was thankful for that. Having Nick so close to her right now really helped her dealing with all of this. She always made sure to keep physical contact with her legs or something just to remind her he was there with here.

 

Bogo’s office was usually neatly clean and organized, but today was far from usual. Stack of papers littered his desk like skyscrapers of a paper city. Amongst them, Judy could see a couple hidden in the corner that seemed to be officer decease notice. She rather not think about those. Multiple light on the phone indicated that Bogo had waiting calls for him. By now the media might have had wind of the fact that two ZPD officers had been assassinated. If that was the case, no doubt they would want interviews.

 

Bogo was looking at them not angrily like he usually would when he called officers in his office, but with compattion. He almost seemed to be tired even though it was still early in the afternoon. Judy made sure that she could feel Nick’s presence before he opened his mouth.

 

“It makes no doubt in my mind, that today’s events are connected to the case. For this reason I have decided to keep the case open for as long as it is needed.”

 

He took a pause and looked at them. They didn’t answer and he didn’t expect them to.

 

“However, we now don’t have inspectors and God knows we need them now more than ever...” He paused again. “So I have decided that, since you two know more about the case than anyone else here, to assign you the post of lead investigators.”

 

This time he managed to get a reaction out of them. They both looked at him incredulously.

 

“But sir…” Judy started before getting silenced by a slow movement of his paw.

 

“Yes I know Hopps. None of you had the proper formation to become lead investigators but the fact that you two helped Coon and Porkins on this case means that you have invaluable insight. Once this case is over, I’ll see about who will get the permanent post. But for right now, you’ll be the investigators until this case is close. I will forward all other cases to other precincts in the city. Your only focus will be on this case and nothing more. This is priority number one… Consider this as a promotion.” He finally said with an exhausted sigh.

 

There wasn’t any cheering or hurrays like Judy thought there would be if Nick and her ever were to get promoted. Instead there was simply an uneasy silence as they were left speechless. She tried to protest, she didn’t know why but she tried to. However she still was unable to utter a simple word.

 

“However I want you both to rest for right now. I’m giving you the rest of the day and tomorrow off. Take the time to deal with all of this, but after that I need you in top shape. We have a cop killer and finding him is priority number one.”

 

He looked down onto the papers on his desk and without giving them another look he released them.

 

“I have an official speech to prepare with the mayor now. Dismissed.”

 

They slowly sat up and exited the small office still in silence. None of them wanted to speak up. So they settled on remaining mute while they descended the stairs that led to the main floor. It’s only after they had clocked out and they were going to part ways that Nick spoke up.

 

“See you tomorrow.” He said in a monotone voice.

 

He only said it out of habit. However they did planned to go eat together the next day. He didn’t know if she still wanted to go out with him seeing what happened recently. He wouldn’t hold it against her if she didn’t.

 

“Yeah see you then.”

 

That surprised him. Sure she didn’t sound too excited when she said it, but who could blame her? The fact that after all of this she still wanted to see him took him by surprise. He didn’t say anything about it of course. He simply watched her walk home away from him, his jaw hanging a bit. He loved that bunny and he hated himself for it. She was already going through hard time as it were, she didn’t need him to come into her life and fuck it up even more.

 

He shook his head and regained his composure as he walked away to the bus stop…

 

He didn’t deserve her.

 

The first thing Judy did after she closed the door of her tiny apartment behind her was to flop on her bed. She wanted to cry, but couldn’t bring herself to it. Not because the death of Coon and Porkins didn’t affect her, but because her body was so in shock that it seemed no bodily functions was able to function properly.

 

She wasn’t sure how long she laid there, she might even had fallen asleep, before she was forced out of her bed by a familiar sound. When she looked up it was night time. The room was cast in shadow since she hadn’t bother to turn on the lights. The only thing that produced light, was her phone that sat on her desk.

 

She heard the familiar ringtone that indicated her parents were trying to reach her. She didn’t feel like talking to them right now, but she knew that if she didn’t answer now, they would just keep calling imagining that the worst had happened to their daughter.

 

She resolved herself to stand up and answer. She just hopped that they hadn’t got wind of what had happened, otherwise they would be scarred to death for her safety and she wouldn’t hear the end of it.

 

Her paw pressed the green button and the image of her parents smiling appeared on the screen.

 

“Hey Jude the dude!”

 

Well at least they didn’t know about today that was always a plus.

 

“How was your day sweetie?” Her mother asked.

 

“Great! It was great.” She tried to smile.

 

That didn’t seem to satisfy her parents. In fact their smiles faded away to be replaced by a concerned look.

 

“Oh sweetie! Don’t lie to us your ears a droopy. You can tell us what is bothering you.”

 

“Yes!” Her father added. “You know we’ll always support you.”

 

She contemplated telling them what had happened for a moment but she finally decided against. They would only get worried for her and she didn’t want to put them through that. They were probably going to find out anyways sooner or later, but she at least wanted to postponed the discussion that would ensue for a later date. She just didn’t feel like she would be able to talk about it now.

 

“It… It’s just that I was on parking duty again.”

 

That seemed to calm her parents again. She wondered when she became so good at lying to them, before she was never able to tell a lie without her mother seeing right through her. It was probably Nick rubbing off on her.

 

She smiled at the thought of that stupid fox. She was taken aback when he had told her that he would see her tomorrow. She thought he wouldn’t be in the mood for that after what happened. She was glad he did though, she needed him right now more than ever. He was the only one that was able to cheer her up when she was sad and God knew she could do with some cheering up.

 

The rest of her conversation with her parents was easier. It mostly considered of them telling her that there was no shame in being a simple meter maid and that it was a vital part of society (she was suspecting they were trying to convince her to become a fulltime meter maid again). The thought of telling them that Nick was a fox like she promised him she would crossed her mind but she thought tonight just wasn’t the right moment.

 

“We love you sweetie! We’re proud of you! Bye!” Her parents said as they waved her goodbye. She did the same and pressed the red button ending the call.

 

She was still smiling like an idiot thinking about Nick and the good time they had together. For a moment she managed to forget what had happened and she was able to go to sleep with happy thoughts about him…

 

Of course that didn’t last...

 

Somehow she was back in that damned warehouse on the docks again. Only this time she was alone. She could hear gun fires going out in the distance at regular intervals, like the slow ticks of a clock warning her she was late. She tried to make her way through the labyrinth as fast as she could but her feet dragged slowly across the ground as if they were stuck in blocks of cement. With each gunfire she could hear she panicked more and more. The detonations were a constant reminder that she was running late. She had to make her way quickly to where the sounds originated from before it was too late. She had to save them this time because she had been unable to do it before. However when she finally managed to turn the corner to where the sound came from, it’s not Coon and Porkins that she found on the ground…

 

It was Nick.

 

He was alone on the floor, with nobody around him. The sounds had finally stop but only to give place to a silence that was even more horrible… The silence of the deads…

 

“NICK NO!” She heard herself scream even though she wasn’t sure her lips ever moved.

 

She was now openly crying, tears running down her face as she ran to him. It wasn’t a fast run and it still felt like her feets were cast in cement but compared to her slow pace before, it was like she was going at light speed on the sheer force of her will. She collapsed in front of him and put her paws on his shoulder to try to shake him up.

 

“NO NICK DON’T! PLEASE NICK DON’T LEAVE ME! PLEASE!”

 

Her face was wet from all her tears that were freely flowing down her cheeks. Although she had heard countless gunshots, there was no mark of entry wound or any injuries at all on his body. She did however knew that he had been shot, she simply knew it. He wasn’t wearing his police uniform, instead he wore his green hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts he’d wore when they first met. His eyes were opened and they looked up at the ceiling emptily.

 

She continued shaking him incessantly as if to wake him up.

 

“NICK WAKE UP PLEASE! WAKE UP!”

 

She continued to cry.

 

“WAKE UP NICK, WAKE UP!”

 

She woke up...

 

Her eyes shot open and she sat up painting.

 

“Nick…” She whispered as she rose from her troubled slumber. She took in her environment around her to realise that it had all been a nightmare. The next thing she realised was that she was still crying… and she couldn’t stop. She laid back into her bed and took her pillow and hugged it. She burrowed her face into it and cried in it. Her cries slowly became whimpers and sniffles until she finally stopped. She didn’t let go of her now soaked pillow, keeping it tight against her. When she finally looked over at her clock, she saw it was already 1:30.

 

How long had she been crying?

 

Deciding that she had lounged on her bed long enough in the past twenty four hours, she decided to sit up. It was still a long time until Nick was scheduled to pick her up and she didn’t know what to do until then, that was if he even still wanted to see her. She reached for her phone to see if he had texted her to cancel their dinner.

 

When she opened her phone she was greeted by a selfie of Nick and her she had taken after his graduation. They were both smiling and looked so happy. She stayed there like that, staring at the picture as she felt a flow of emotions rush through her. She missed him… It had been less than a day and she already missed him…

 

She realised that she couldn’t wait any longer, she had to see him. She considered calling him to warn him she was coming over to his place early but she frankly didn’t know what to say to him. She hopped that words would come to her more easily if she was face to face with him.

 

She prepared as rapidly as she could and got out of her apartment in the hope to not loose this sudden boldness that had just hit her. She remembered the way to his apartment and took it with ease. Around an hour after she left, she was standing in front of his door on the third floor of the apartment complex.

 

She lifted her paw and let it hover over his door. She hesitated, she could always turn back now and wait for him in her apartment. She shook her head. No, she had went all this way to see him because she couldn’t stand being alone right now, she was not going to turn back. And so she knocked on the wooden door and stood back letting the percussions echo through his small apartment.

 

After a moment the door partially opened, stopped by a chain, to reveal half the face of a fox. He first looked up and then down to try to find the mammal who had just knocked. His gaze froze on the sight of the small bunny and her heart stopped.

 

“Carrots? What are…”

 

He stood back and closed the door only to open it again, fully this time.

 

“What are you doing there?”

 

He looked like hell. His fur was all roughed up and he was only wearing sweatpants. He obviously hadn’t groomed himself this morning and the fact that he hadn’t been able to wash for almost a week now really took a tole on him. He normally tried to mask his unwashed sent with perfume but he couldn’t have been bothered this morning. He would have done it before meeting her but he hadn’t expected her to show up early.

 

Judy could now smell his musky scent and surprisingly enough it didn’t bother her as much as she thought it would. In fact she would even say she liked it, it made her feel safe, protected. If her ancestors could hear her right now they would probably think she was crazy but she didn’t care.

 

She tried to open her mouth to tell him that she was sorry that she didn’t call him to tell him she was coming over, and that she didn’t even make sure he wanted to see her right now or if he wanted to be left alone. She tried to apologies but she couldn’t say a word. Her eyes met his and she looked up into his deep emerald eyes.

 

Then suddenly she remembered those same green eyes in the warehouse. Those eyes back there looked so much more empty than those she had in front of her. Memories started to flood through her and she saw him laying on the ground dead. She saw herself trying to wake him up to no avail and tears started forming in her own eyes. She thought she had cried all the water out of her body before and yet there it was, back again.

 

She did the same thing she had done earlier this morning with her pillow, only this time it was with Nick. She went up to him and hugged him as if the hug was the only thing that kept him anchored in this world and if she was ever to let him go he would just fade away. She didn’t care if he called her emotional or if he made fun of her,she just wanted to make sure her best friend would never disappear.

 

His jokes never came though. Instead, he wrapt his own arms around her and pulled her even closer to him as he got on one knee and rested his head on top of hers. She pushed herself deeper in his chest as she felt his fur against her own. In any other situation she would have blushed and stepped away but right now she didn’t care. She wanted comfort and he was there to provide it.

 

Once he had hugged her back, it took no time for her crying to calm and come to a stop. She was now simply basking in the sensation and in his scent eyes closed. It was he who broke the hug.

 

“Come on in carrots.” He said softly. “It’s cold today.”

 

He let her enter and closed the door behind her. If she thought he looked like a mess, she was taken aback by the state of his apartment. Clothes laid here and there, dirty dishes were still piled in the sink waiting to be washed and the walls of his apartment looked to be rotten although that last one was beyond his control and was due to the cheap neighbourhood. Moreover, the whole of the apartment was filled with the same musky scent, so much that it made her head spin. It was to be expected really. It had almost been a week since he last washed due to their bet and his apartment had acted like a hot box trapping all the odors in.

 

She shook herself to regain her composure when she saw he was looking at her in a strange way.

 

“Nick, I’m sorry… I.. I wanted to call you but I… I couldn’t and…” She looked down at her feets embarrassed. “I just really didn’t want to be alone…”

 

This time it was Nick who pulled her into another hug.

 

“I’m glad you came. I didn’t want to be alone too.” He said in her ear.

 

He hesitated but he dared to take a little sniff. She smelled so good it almost made him mad. He scolded himself, this was not the time to have those kind of thoughts. Still though he couldn’t stop himself for thinking them. He was madly in love with her and she was there in front of him, all broken needing someone to hold her.

 

He broke the hug once again and diverted his gaze from here. He knew he shouldn’t have those thoughts and should really do something else to occupy his mind.

 

“So what do you want to do while we wait for dinner?” He asked nervously.

 

“I don’t know, do you have an Idea?”

 

“Well I have pawflix, we could always watch a movie.”

 

“Yeah that sounds nice.”

 

“Okay just let me go put on a shirt and then we can watch a movie.”

 

All the sadness and loneliness the two of them had felt up until now had faded away. It was almost as if nothing had ever happened and this was just another movie night between friends. They were both seated on the couch next to each other. Nick opened up the menu and turned to Judy.

 

“So what kind of movie do you want to watch?”

 

“I don’t feel like watching something too serious right now, something light hearted. How about a ‘for all the family’ movie?”

 

“Okay if you want to.” He shrugged. “Which one?”

 

“I’ll let you decide. I don’t have pawflix so you probably saw more of them than me.”

 

“I haven’t seen a single one of them fluff.”

 

Judy looked up at him as if he was some sort of alien.

 

“What do you mean none of them? You must have least seen one no?”

 

“Hunhun.” He said while shaking his head from side to side.

 

“Wait! How can you not have seen Floatzen!”

 

“It’s a kid’s movie carrots. Of course I didn’t see it.”

 

“A kid’s movie! Floatzen is not a kid’s movie! Right it’s settled then, we’re watching it!”

 

“You’re serious there carrots?”

 

She gave a quick nod of the head with a smile before looking back at the screen.

 

“You really are just a kit.” he said jokingly.

 

It earned him a poke in the ribs but it was worth it.

 

He started the movie and laid back in the couch. Judy her couldn’t hold still over the excitement of watching the same movie for a countless time but also to introduce it to Nick. He had an idea, a sly one at that.

 

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him, forcing her to stop bouncing up and down.

 

“Stop hopping you over excited bunny.”

 

She didn’t try to resist him but instead she let herself be pulled deeper into the couch.

 

Smooth.

 

She laid her head against the side off his chest and stayed still to watch the movie. She would look up at him from time to time when she knew something important was about to happen in the movie, so that she could watch his reaction. Nick might have played the tough fox card, but Judy could see that he was enjoying the movie.

 

 **~Enjoy this while you can because you know this won’t become a thing.** Nick thought to himself.

 

In the end, when the main characters proved that the true love was the sisterly one, she was watching him again. He looked sad and it worried her. It was one of the most beautiful moment in the movie and it saddened him she didn’t know why. She supposed it might have to do with is past. Judy couldn’t stand to watch him suffer like that, so she tried to comfort him by pressing herself harder in his side to remind him she was there.

 

The movie ended and the credits began to scroll on the screen. She looked up at him still pressed against him. He didn’t seem to notice her or even the fact that the movie had ended. He was still looking at the screen, wondering.

 

“So how did you find the movie?” She asked, snapping him from his thoughts.

 

He looked down at her and seemed to realise in what position they were. He quickly removed his arm from her shoulders and scooted away from her a bit.

 

“It was okay.” He said nervously as looked elsewhere.

 

“Okay! Don’t lie to me Nick I’ve been watching you during the movie, I know you liked it.”

 

She blushed a bit as she realised how “I’ve been watching you” sounded. Fortunately for her, he didn’t seem to realise it because he didn’t make any jokes about it.

 

“Fine it was a good movie.” He said

 

“And…” She encouraged him to continue with a movement of her paw.

 

“And it’s not just a kid’s movie. Happy?” He said looking back at her now with a grin.

 

“Very.” She said as she propped herself up on her knees and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

 

It took a second for the both of them to realise what she just had done. When they did they both looked ahead of them, eyes wide. Heat started to rise to their face and they both looked everywhere but at each other.

 

Judy didn’t know why she did that. It just felt natural, like it was the proper thing to do.

 

**~She kissed me!**

 

**~On the cheek.**

 

**~Yeah but it’s still a kiss.**

 

**~Maybe, but does it mean anything?**

 

**~Right. It might just be a friendly kiss, the kind you might give to your brother.**

 

**~Yeah it’s probably that just a chaste little brotherly kiss.**

 

They were still silent.

 

**~I kissed him!**

 

**~Why did I kiss him.**

 

**~Calm down Judy it wasn’t a real kiss.**

 

**~It’s just a friendly peck on the cheek nothing more, it doesn’t mean anything.**

 

**~Yeah, just play it cool, like nothing happened. No need to make a big deal out of it.**

 

“So…” Judy started, still not daring to look at him. “Dinner hen…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two will be out in a few days (hopefully).


	8. 99 bottles of beer part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here goes part two.

 

“So…” Judy started still not daring to look at him. “Dinner hen…”

 

She really had nothing to say about it, but she had to break the silence as casually as she could.

 

“Yeah about that…” Said Nick still uneasy. “Do you still feel like going out to a restaurant?”

 

Judy thought about it. After all that had happened she didn’t really want to go out in public. She just wanted to stay inside and spend some time with Nick. She was however starving seeing that she hadn’t eaten since yesterday's launch.

 

“Not really. Could we eat here?” She asked looking at him with wide hopeful eyes.

 

“Of course. However my fridge is kind of empty, so I’ll have to go make the groceries.” It wasn’t the exact truth, but his fridge did only contain fishes or bugs based meal and he didn’t want to eat meat in front of her.

 

“Okay I guess I’ll just stay here while you’re gone.”

 

Nick went to his room to get his wallet. He took the time to make a stop into the bathroom where he splashed cold water on his face. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he gently stroked  the spot where she had kissed him.

 

“She kissed me…” he whispered to himself as if he needed reassurance it wasn’t just a dream.

 

He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time. He grabbed his keys and his coat and went out to the grocery store. The one in his neighbourhood wasn’t very big but it had what was needed most of the time.

 

He grabbed a ready to go salad because he didn’t have the time or the patience to cook today. While getting a few other things he could see the front of the electronic shop on the other side of the road. Something caught his attention. The cheap tv’s they were displaying all played the same news channel. He couldn’t make out the fine details, but Nick recognised the building they were showing... It was the warehouse, surrounded by cop cars.

 

If that wasn’t enough to make him feel shitty again, they showed a photo of Coon and Porkins in police uniform. It was soon followed by a similar image of Judy, smiling as always. For some reason, seeing Judy’s photo after Coon and Porkins’s made him feel sick. He turned his gaze quickly from the televisions on the other side of the road, as if looking at them any longer would burn his retinas. He then decided to buy two wolf size bottles of vodka, he was going to need it.

 

Judy was now alone in Nick’s apartment. She told herself she probably shouldn’t wander around and just wait for Nick to come back, on his couch. She then proceeded to ignore her own recommendation and wandered around.

 

She started by looking around the rooms she had already been in, not daring to explore further. She looked at his small dvd collection, at the few books he had and then finally got bored. After some consideration she decided to go look in his room.

 

When she entered, she was hit once again by the scent of his musk. It was more present in his bedroom than anywhere else in the apartment. The scent was so strong, it made her head spin and she had to blink a few times before she could regain balance. Once again, when the smell should have disgusted her or even scared her she found something intriguing to it. Something that prompt her to take a deep breathe of it. And so she did.

 

She stayed like that, smelling his scent, for some time before she realise exactly what she was doing. She quickly stopped herself and started to blush. Thankfully no-one was around.

 

His room was plain, with little in the matter of furnishure. He had a double bed, a nightstand, some drawers and a closet. All looked cheap and uninteresting… Well that was until she saw something poke out from under his bed.

 

She bended down to see that it was an old box. She took it from under the bed and looked inside it.

 

Inside it was a set of different personal item. She took the first one in her paws to see it was a photo of young Nick in ranger scout uniform. He looked so happy on it, oblivious to what was going to happen after that. She turned the photo to look at it’s back.

 

“I’ll always love you, my little scout.” was written on it.

 

She put down the photo in the box and took a better look at it. On the opposite side of the bax was written in black letters:”Mrs.Wilde’s personal effect”.

 

She looked in the box for some time, examining what it contained before her bunny ears shot up when she heard some footstep approaching the door. She quickly shoved the box back under his bed and bolted out of his room all the way to the couch. She sat just in time before he opened the door.

 

“Heeyaa!” She said smiling. She tried her most convincing smile, hopping he wouldn’t find out she had been snooping around.

 

He did not reciprocate the smile however which made her uneasy.

 

“Nick is there something wrong?”

 

**~”Is there something wrong?” Good job dumb bunny, what do you think could possibly be bothering him right now? Idiot!**

 

**~But he wasn’t like that when he left.**

 

“It’s nothing fluff, don’t worry about it.”

 

Her own smile had now faded away and she looked at him with sad eyes.

 

“Nick please don’t shut me out. Come on talk to me.”

 

He didn’t want to ruin her mood by telling her but she was looking at him with those big sad bunny eyes and he just couldn’t bring himself to lie or deny her.

 

“It’s… It’s the news.” He said with a sigh.

 

Her ears drooped as she realised what he meant. She did however still turn on his tv to see for herself. The screen came to life, directly on the post of ZNN.

 

“Investigator Randal Coon and Alboar Porkins of the ZPD were found dead this morning in an old warehouse on the docks.” Said the beaver reporter. “It’s officer Judy Hopps, the same officer that solved the nighthowler case, that found them dead.” Judy’s picture appeared on the screen once again, smiling.

 

In other times, it might have bothered Nick that they didn’t talk about him but right now he was glad. For once being left on the side because he was a fox had it’s advantages.

 

“Some sources informed us that they were murdered; however, we are still waiting for confirmation from either chief Bogo or the mayor. An official press conference will take place tomorrow at Zootopia precinct number one in savannah central.”

 

Nick handed her a salad as he sat next to her. They both watch the news silently until they finished. Once again, life had came back at them to spit in their face. All the cheers from earlier had disappeared.

 

Nick sat up from the couch and turned off the tv. He then walked over to his kitchenet.

 

“I need a drink. Want some?”

 

Her reason said no but she didn’t refuse or accept it yet. It’s after her phone vibrated and she looked at it only to see it was her parents that she said yes. She quickly texted them to say she was fine and that she was busy right now and they would talk another time.

 

Nick sat back down next to her with two glasses and a large bottle of vodka. Her eyes widened when she saw the size of it. It certainly wasn’t meant for foxes she was sure of it.

 

He poured both of them a drink and raised his glass.

 

“To Coon and Porkins.”

 

“To Coon and Porkins.” She repeated after him.

 

He swallowed his his drink in one shot and slammed the glass on the table with a satisfying sound. She tried to do the same, but choked on her first glup. At least it made him laugh.

 

“It-cough-It’s not funny! What is that stuff, it’s super strong?!”

 

It only made him laugh even more.

 

“Super strong? It’s only cheap vodka I bought at the market!” He laughed at her even more which made her blush.

 

“Sh-shut up!” She said cheeks bright red.

 

“Oh carrots!” He said wiping the tears from his eyes. “You’re really helping the whole ‘cute innocent little rabbit who can’t handle alcohol’ cliché.”

 

“Firstly, when did the alcohol thing became part of it? Secondly, I can handle alcohol, it just… took me by surprise. And thirdly, don’t call me cute.” She replied with a playful smile.

 

“Oh yeah? Prove it.”

 

He served her another glass of vodka.

 

“Drink it all in one shot.” He dared.

 

Judy eyed the glass in front of her as she slowly lifted it up with one paw. The amount of vodka in the glass seemed a bit overkill to her. It’s not that she was new to alcohol, she had drank before with her sisters. It’s just that she never was really that into it. She always was too preoccupied about getting good grades and making it to the ZPD academy to go out like her sisters did. They had dragged her sometimes but most of times they just left her alone.

 

After some hesitation she took the glass to her lips and tried to swallow it whole. After two gulps she started to cough again and she stopped. It made Nick laugh even more.

 

“Hey! It’s not fair! Those glasses are fox sized, if you were in my place, you wouldn’t be able to handle it too.”

 

Nick simply grinned at her for answer as he sat up and went back to the kitchenette. Before she could ask what he was doing he came back with a bigger glass that was clearly meant for juice and not alcohol even less strong ones. He filled it and gave her one last glance.

 

Judy’s eyes most have seemed enormous from the outside. Nick’s glass was way too big for any foxes to handle. And yet he started chugging on it. In the end he started coughing but still managed to empty the glass. It took him a moment to stop coughing and she could see that it had brought tears to his eyes. When he did manage to regain himself, he lifted his arms up over his head as a sign of victory.

 

Judy’s mouth hanged open as she watched him go. When he did his victory stance she decided that she wasn’t going to be beaten by him. She quickly grabbed the over sized bottle of vodka with both paws and poured herself another drink.

 

“Gimme that!”

 

“Whoa, calm down carrots this isn’t a competi…” He didn't have the time to stop her that she already had started to chug down the liquor.

 

This time she almost made it but in the end there was still a bit of vodka left when she started coughing and had to stop. She put the glass down and raised her arms, imitating him.

 

“Y-Yes it is and I just won it!” She slurred out.

 

He could have pointed out that she didn’t finish her glass but he didn't. She had already drank enough for right now.

 

“Alright, alright you win. Let’s just… slow down on the drinking.” He said as he pulled the bottle away from her.

 

“Boom told ya!”

 

He chuckled as he watched her go.

 

“You know what this needs?” He said. “Music!”

 

He got up and took out his phone. He selected a random song and put down the phone as he started dancing. This made judy laugh so much it hurt her. Seeing this only encouraged Nick to dance in an even more silly way just for her entertainment.

 

“Come one bun-bun! Get up and dance with me.”

 

And she did.

 

Time went by like this. They would dance in a silly fashion to make the other laugh and they would drink and start it all over again. At one point Nick had to open the second bottle since they had finished the last one. Her head was spinning and she was smiling, she rarely had this much fun in a night. At least she wasn’t drinking as much as when they started, otherwise Nick doubted she would even be able to stand. The dancing got progressively more messy and every word they said more slurry.

 

Eventually, Judy was laying on Nick’s couch as she watched him dance to “It’s not unusual”. His hips were swaying from side to side as his tail did the same but in the opposite direction. His arms were doing a similar gesture, snapping his fingers each time they would swing. He was slightly hunched over and his eyes were closed as he tried his best to lip sync with his impaired mind.

 

“ It's not unusual to be loved by anyone.”

 

“It's not unusual to have fun with anyone.”

 

Judy was laughing so much she curled up in a ball and crossed her arms over her stomach. Tears of laughter were running down her cheeks. They were having the time of their lives.

 

Of course she had to ruin it.

 

Nick flopped back down on the couch next to her, laughing. They looked in each other's eyes, smiling. But her smile faded away and she adopted a very serious expression.

 

“Nick…” She started in a very sympathetic tone. “What happened to your mother?”

 

Nick’s smile disappeared and his eyes became sad. He took a swig of vodka directly from the bottle this time but it didn’t bother her.

 

“She died when I was twelve.”

 

The answer didn’t surprise her. She had had her suspicion about it for a long time now.

 

“She had been sick for a long time. Without her being able to work, money started to become tight. That’s when I started to hustle. She died a few days after that, I still don’t know if it’s because she now knew that I could survive on my own from this point on or if it’s the pain of seeing her only son become a con artist that killed her.”

 

She wanted to say she was sorry for him, she wanted to hug him. Instead she asked another question.

 

“And your father?”

 

“Never knew him. As far as I know he was just a one night stand with my mother, not that she ever really talked about him to me.”

 

“Nick I am so sorry!” She slurred out to the best of her ability.

 

She closed the distance between them to give him a hug. It was no simple task with her impaired judgment. She kept tripping and almost falling off the couch before she finally crashed unto him in what was a semblance of a hug.

 

Nick chuckled at her.

 

“Why would you be sorry fluff? Out of all the mammals in this city you’re the first one to truly believe in me since my mother.” He whispered in her ears.

 

She pulled back from the messy hug to look at him. Her amethyst eyes got lost in his emerald ones as they were standing merely inches from each other. They were so close, she could now smell him better than ever. The same scent as before hit her.

 

No, this one was different, sweeter. She took in deeper breathes while she continued to stare him down his eyes. His scent caused butterflies to appear in her stomach and her heart to beat faster while her nose twitched uncontrollably. She was getting drunk on both alcohol and his smell to a point where she wasn’t sure which one affected her the most.

 

It was probably the alcohol because otherwise she would never have had the courage to do what she did next.

 

She put her arms around his neck and circumnavigated his muzzle as if to pull him in another hug. Only, she instead placed a gentle kiss on his cheeks were she had done it by accident earlier. She immediately gave him another one on the corner of his mouth this time, and pulled back. Unlike before, she held his gaze to examine his reaction.

 

While still shocked, it lacked the embarrassment from earlier. Instead, he was looking back at her lovingly. Seeing no objection, judy raised her paws from behind his neck to cup the side of his face. She closed her eyes and slowly made her way over to his mouth, planting a gentle kiss on his lips. When she pulled back, she examined him again. His breathing had grown faster and his eyes now contained something more…

 

Longing…

 

Still without sign of objection from his part, she started to close in for another kiss, only this time he met her halfway and kissed her back. Her head was spinning and her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. His own arms rose to wrap her in and pull her further against him. They stayed like that, eyes closed, tasting each other for as long as they could before they needed to breathe.

 

They looked at each other lovingly with short and scattered breaths. Self control be damned, it didn’t take more than five seconds for them to instinctively reach out for the other and pull them in another passionate kiss. It was the most wonderful sensation Judy ever felt and yet it wasn’t enough. She got more vigorous in her kissing as her mouth became needy. Seeing this, Nick passed his tongue against her theets, soliciting entry. She was all too happy to oblige and she open her mouth allowing him to enter it.

 

His tongue brushed against hers which elicited a moan from her. Her moaning into his mouth almost drove him mad and he started to get more passionate about his kissing. They became more and more erratic and paws moved from their original position to start roaming and to explore the other’s body. They didn’t have control of their actions anymore, things just happened by instinct. For a moment they wondered if this was what it was like to be savage and if it was then they wanted to stay this savage for the rest of their lives.

 

Nick pushed against her, forcing her to lay on the couch as he hovered over her, still kissing her. His mouth came off her lips to rest in the crest of her neck. He started kissing her there which made her moan his name.

 

“Ni-ick!”

 

His name on her lips drove him near madness. He kissed her neck more intensively, using his tongue to elicilite small cries of pleasure. Her own scent started to fill the room as she felt a heat coming from in between her thighs. While Nick couldn’t smell himself since he had learned to zone out his own scent, he was able to smell her perfectly. He had thought that she smelled good before, but now it was a whole new smell and a whole new level of “good”. He inhaled her while he kissed her neck and she could feel the warmth of the air he exhaled on her skin. It only contributed to turn her on even more which in turn made her new scent even stronger.

 

This had it’s effect on him too. His pupils were dilated and his claws were fully extended like if he was hunting her. His paws were still moving up and down her back, his claws lightly grazing her skin through the fabric of her clothes. Arousal is probably not the effect it should have had on her but it is the one that did. Seeing this, Nick decided to test her response by passing his paws under her shirt to lightly grazed her bare skin. As he did this, he moved back to kissing her on the lips. His claws had their immediate effect on her as it brought a tingling feeling that rushed up her spine and into her mouth where she trapped Nick's tongue and moaned against it.

 

Judy was now so aroused, she could smell her own scent. She grabbed Nick’s head with both paws and rubbed his muzzle with her chin, rubbing her scent on him.

 

He passed both of his paws behind her and with one swift movement lifted her from the couch so that he was standing up with her leaned on him. She put her arms around his Neck to better help support herself and wrapped her legs around his hips. Nick was holding her like this while he made his way to his bedroom. They were now furiously rubbing their face together, cheeks against cheeks, as a show of affection and to get as much of the other’s scent impregnated on them as they could.

 

Once he reached his bed, he tried to drop her on it but she would have none of it. Her legs remained clasped around him and with a powerful tug, she managed to pull him on top of her on the bed. He had to stop himself with his arms, otherwise he would have crushed her under his weight. She tugged at his shirt, making it known it was unwanted, without breaking the passionate kiss they had going on. He took it off, stopping the attention his mouth was giving her for the shortest time he could as if kissing her was as much of a necessity as breathing.

 

When he finally discarded his shirt, she started to grab at his chest, paws roaming his fur. The sensation of her paws massaging his chest fur was amazing. He dared to take one of her ears in his mouth and nibbled it gently. He knew she was sensitive there, he was still sore from the kick she had given him after he had tugged on them once. This time however, instead of kicking she panted as he nibbled his way from the top of her ears to the bottom, to finally go back to the crest of her neck. He didn’t simply contempt himself with just kissing her there like before. Now he was nibbling at her, grazing his sharp teeth against forbidden part of her skin while his claws did the same on her lower back. It should have terrified her but instead it turned her on like nothing before. She had waited long enough now, she needed more... more of him.

 

With a swift motion of her hips, she managed to throw him off balance and inverted the positions to end up on top of him. She was saddled in his laps and her paws were still roaming his chest, groping tuff of his fur from time to time. It was her turn to kiss him on the neck and the top of his chest. She could tell he liked it from the low growls he emitted. Hearing his encouragement, she decided to get bolder and started to grind her hips against his own.

 

“Huggh! Carrots!”

 

He could feel the heat of her thighs radiating through her clothes to warm his own. Each motion of her lower body created wonderful friction that sent jolt of pleasure through their spines and made them both more and more ready. She couldn’t hold it longer anymore, so with shaky paws she started to fumble on the button of his pants.

 

But he stopped her...

 

In a moment, Nick seemed to regain all his self control as he realised what was happening. He took her trembling paw in his and pulled them up against his chest, forcing her to make eye contact with him.

 

“Carrots, don’t…”

 

She was breathing heavily and her eyes were filled with desperation and lust.

 

“Nick I want you! I need you!”

 

Her word sent butterflies in his chest. Why did he always have to be strong? Why couldn’t he be weak, just for once?

 

“Carrots, you’re drunk!”

 

“Nick pleeease!” She moaned desperately.

 

She was still grinding against him, almost in pain due to all the denied want she had bottled up in her. Seeing her so helpless gave him a sinking feeling in his heart.

 

“Shhhh! Hey come here.”

 

He pulled her closer to him as he spun around to lay on his side with her face buried in his chest.

 

“Shhhh! Calm down fluff, it’s alright.” He said as if trying to calm down a kit after a nightmare.

 

She didn’t stop grinding at him but she also didn’t resist him. He pulled her to him as tightly as he could. His tail covered her back and he rested his head on her’s as if he tried to cover as much as he could of her. Her grinding slowed down and came to a stop as he stroked her ears with his paws and whispered soothing words in them. Now she was just caressing the fur on his chest, observing it with incredible attention. Eventually her breathing became more regular and slower, at which point he knew she had fallen asleep. He pulled the covers of his sheets over them and gave her a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

 

There he was, falling asleep with the bunny he loved in his arms. Red fur against grey fur in an orderly chaos. He was the happiest mammal alive…

 

Something told him that the mourning would be quite different...

 

**…**

 

Being a prison guard sucked.

 

When the large tiger had taken the post he had expected it to be easy, getting paid to do nothing. But instead he had to babysit ungrateful trash of society.

 

Of course the organisation offered him a better pay in exchange for him to do some odd jobs for them. This was one of these jobs.

 

He had been assigned to protect a moose that had been caught a few days ago. Some investigators of the ZPD apparently feared for his safety and so the moose needed protection. Turns out they were right, because that same moose had gotten on the wrong side of the organisation by disappointing them and betraying them.

 

The only thing that those detectives didn’t know was that you couldn’t be protected against them. They pulled strings everywhere. They were the ones who were really in charge of the city, not city hall.

 

The tiger’s job was simple. Let somebody else kill the prisoner while he turned a blind eye and he would get paid a hefty amount of cash.

 

It was night and the moose was sleeping in his cell while he stood guard in front of it.

 

The tiger saw three well built figure approach him. The figure became clearer, and he saw they were two hyenas and one hippo. All three of them wore the orange outfit of prisoners. Normally, prisoners shouldn’t be out and about after curfew, but another guard member of the organisation had probably let them out.

 

“We’re here for the job said the hippo.”

 

“You have everything that you need?”

 

The hippo simply answered by showing him the homemade glass shiv he hold.

 

“And you know the official story?” Asked the tiger.

 

“One of us distracted you while the others stabbed you in the back, while not fatal hard enough to knock you down. We then took your keys and entered his cell then finally cut his throat. There is no way to know exactly which one of us did it and you cannot be blamed for what happened.”

 

“Good. here is the keys to the Cell.” He handed them the keys.

 

“You’re ready for this?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“It will be painful.”

 

“I know.”Said the tiger. “And you will probably be thrown into solitary confinement.”

 

“I know.”

 

He turned his back to the three criminals and waited.

 

“Ad maius bonum brother.”

 

“Ad maius bonum.”

 

The hippo thrusted the shiv into his back, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the tiger guard before he collapsed to the ground. The sound woke up the moose who looked at the scene in front of him with terror.

 

The three mammals used the guard's keys to open the door of the cell and surrounded the terrified prey.

 

“Please no! I am sorry please I beg of you, plea…”

 

He was cut short when the hippo started to thrust the shiv repeatedly into him. After a few stabs, they walked away from the scene leaving an injured guard and a dead moose bleeding on the ground of his cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I hope you didn’t get blue balls. The story is still rated T on fanfiction.net so don’t expect the smutty stuff yet. Don’t worry though, it will come but before that I’ll give you a warning to tell you I will be upping the rating to M. But for right now, it’s going to stay T. I also want to say that I know that officially, Nick’s mother is still alive but I have decided to only follow the lore that is directly into the movie. For example, next chapter we’ll meet a new Oc, the mayor. I know that the wiki says Lionheart got freed and reinstated after the movie but I feel like after what he did that would be unlikely. The new mayor’s character might come in and out of the story from time to time or it might just be a one time thing I still haven’t decided. Anyways, it might be sometimes until the next chapter comes out due to life stuff and shit. As always, we fanfic author LOVE when you guys tell us what you think about the store, so comment if you want to and until next time… bye.


	9. morning after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof! This chapter took a lot of fine tuning. It was hard to get the characters right, they always seemed off at first. I got it to a point where your eyes shouldn’t self-combust when you read it but no guarantee.

**** Judy’s head was killing her.

 

When she woke up, she was assaulted by a painful headache that was akin to an elephant trying to crush her skull. It felt like she was about to throw up, but she didn't want to get out of the bed because the outside world seemed to be painful and because she was SO comfortable.

 

The blankets were so soft and cuddly. She was snuggled against one of her bunny plush and it smelled so good. It smelled like Nick…

 

Wait what!?

 

She slowly and painfully opened her eyes to see that she wasn’t hugging one of her plush but a red fluffy tail. She also discovered that what she thought was the blankets were actually fox’s arms covering her and holding her close. And the reason it smelled like Nick…

 

Was because it was Nick.

 

He was holding her close to him from behind. As far as she could tell, he was still asleep. They had been sleeping like this, all night spooning.

 

Her heart started to beat faster and she started to panick. She didn’t move however, not at first. Maybe it was because she was too panicked to think, or maybe it was because she didn’t want to move, who knows?

 

What had happened last night and why the hell was she in bed with her best friend, doing the little spoon? She couldn’t remember how things got there and her mind started to fill the blanks with different scenarios.

 

Did they… went far?

 

No they couldn’t have, at least that’s what she hopped. Nick was her best friend and she didn’t want to ruin things between them because she had drunk too much and had acted like a dumb bunny. And yet somewhere, in a part of her brain, the thought of being intimate with him didn’t disturb her as much as it should.

 

She saw that her clothes were still on which was a good sign although it did little to calm her. She tried to free herself from his grip but when she started moving he only pulled her closer to him in his sleep.

 

He was much bigger and stronger than her, and she didn’t have the strength to get free with this terrible headache of hers. She considered staying in his arms until he woke up, after all it wasn’t that uncomfortable.

 

Who was she kidding, it was the most comfortable she had ever been even though she had a terrible headache. But still, they were best friend before anything else. She couldn’t let the events of last night, whatever they were, ruin that for her. They had been drunk, she could tell that and they, or more probably she, had done something stupid. Nick was the only mammal she was close to in this whole city, losing him would be disastrous.

 

She gave a look above her shoulder to see Nick’s face, sleeping with a smile. He looked so happy holding her close to him, it made her heart skip a beat.

 

Nick was sleeping soundly. The pillow he was snuggling against, a habit he had picked up a few days ago, was especially soft tonight and it smelled so nice. In his sleep clouded mind, he could almost imagine it was her. Her soft fur brushing against his, her sweet smell filling his nostrils, her long cute ears flattened on the back of her head. It was like he was holding her so close to him. It wiggled so he pulled it closer to him and that seemed to make it stop…

 

Wait it wiggled?

 

Still not opening his eyes, in a half asleep state, he started to lend more attention to the precious thing he was holding. The more he concentrated, the more he could make out details about it and the more he became awake doing so, the more his head started to hurt. He finally became conscious enough to realise that it wasn’t normal for his pillow to be breathing and so he grudgingly decided to open his eyes.

 

The new flow of visual stimuli made his head throb. He took them in one by one. His room, the light coming through his curtains, his bed, Judy...

 

“Carrots what the hell?”

 

He let her go and without him holding her, she bolted out of the bed faster than she wanted to. She hit the wall which made the curtains that were covering Nick’s window fall off. The light now freely shined from the window and directly into his face.

 

He let out a low scream as the light assaulting him did little good for his hangover. He tried to back up quickly to avoid the light which only resulted in him falling on the other side of the bed.

 

Both mammals were now on the ground, wincing in pain, as they tried to remember the events of the night before. While Judy was unable to remember anything past them dancing, Nick was able to summon a few images and some memories without context.

 

None of them spoke up for a while. They simply laid on the ground, separated by Nick’s double bed.

 

“Nick what happened?” She asked, barely managing to formulate a proper sentence with the pain in her head.

 

Nick ducked his head above the cover that his mattress allowed him only to duck back in as the light assaulted his senses. He rubbed his temples and groaned.

 

“Hurgg! Light! Living Room!” Was all he could say.

 

Yet she still managed to understand him.

 

They crawled to the relative safety of the darkened living room. She could have guessed what had happened but she needed to talk about it with him. Their whole friendship was hanging on a fine thread.

 

“Nick...”

 

“Hold on carrots.” He cut her off before slowly getting up and entering the bathroom.

 

He came out with a small bottle filled with white pills. He poured two glasses of water and put a pill in each of them. Gas started coming out from it and he handed one of the glass to her.

 

“Aspirin.” He stated simply.

 

She took the glass and looked up at him. He sat on the couch facing her as she was simply sitting on the ground, her back against the wall.

 

“Nick we need to talk...”

 

He took a sip of the water. “Go ahead, talk.” He said nonchalantly.

 

How could he act like nothing had happened? Was it nothing to him? Was she just a token bunny for him, another conquest or some shit like that? She started to get angry at him for his lack of caring until she realised something…

 

**~Never let them see they get to you…**

 

It’s not that he didn’t care, it’s that he was afraid to show it. This softened her, made her feel bad for him. She didn’t want Nick to be afraid to share things with her of all people. And yet her she was, about to tell him that she wanted to be “just friends”.

 

“Nick what happened last night?”

 

As Nick had feared, she didn’t remember. His face grew dark and he sighed. Seeing he didn’t respond straight away, she asked again.

 

“Nick… did we…?”

 

“I… We were drunk and… We made out.” He said with a resolve.

 

“We… what?” She asked with wide eyes.

 

“We made out, that means that…”

 

“I know what it means idiot!”

 

Nick winced in pain.

 

“Jesus carrots no screaming please.”

 

Judy’s head was spinning, not due to her hangover but to the realisation of what this meant. She had already guessed something along those lines had happened but to hear it from him was different. Nick couldn’t help but feel he had taken advantage of her. She was drunk and he knew it. He should have stopped her after the first kiss.

 

“Judy I… I’m sorry.”

 

For him to use her first name was a rare thing. She looked at him and he looked down, avoiding her eyes.

 

He didn’t deserve her…

 

Those words again and again they had came and haunted him like a plague.

 

He didn’t deserve her…

 

She had put her faith in him, she had defended him against bigots, she had made the best of him come out.

 

He didn’t deserve her…

 

And in return, he had taken advantage of her, during cases he slowed her down, if it wasn’t for him she might already have received a promotion.

 

Now he knew one thing for certain, he didn’t deserve her.

 

“Nick, no don’t be…”

 

“It was a mistake.” He cut her off.

 

She felt like she had just been punched in the guts. It was her job to tell him that they should just be friends so she was surprised when he was the one to say it. She didn’t think hearing him say it instead of her would affect her this much and she didn’t know why it did. One thing was sure, it was that him rejecting her was one of the most painful experience she ever had even though she was about to do the same to him anyways. She cared a lot about Nick, liked him a lot too and apparently last night had been a mistake to him. It was probably for the best really but it still stinged hearing him, say that.

 

“We… we can’t…” He said still looking down at his feet.

 

“I know.” That wasn’t what she wanted to say but she knew it was true.

 

There wasn’t much Judy was sure about. She didn’t know what she felt for Nick, she was confused. But one thing she knew by heart was the ZPD’s reglementation and relationship romance could get them fired.

 

She wasn’t sure what to say next. She was holding back tears and she contemplated her options. Leave it there or continue with a “but…”.

 

There were many things Judy was unsure about. And if she wanted to be friends with Nick or if she wanted something more was number one on the list. Funny it had taken him rejecting her to realise that.

 

She looked around for answers or for an escape... And she found one… But it wasn’t what she wanted.

 

The clock on Nick’s hoven was displaying 10:35…

 

“NICK WE’RE LATE!”

 

He did an ugly frown, probably from a mix of surprise and pain, and looked at the clock. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that it was an excuse to delay the talk or to end it there. However, he also knew that Bogo would probably kill them both for arriving late on their first day has investigators.

 

“Shit!”

 

Truth be told he was himself relieved to not have to continue this talk anymore. Hopefully they could just act like nothing happened and continue being best friends and partners. That was if Bogo didn’t erase them from existence with the sole power of his death stare.

 

“My uniform is at my place. I have to get there before going to the precinct.”

 

They immediately got into action, Nick started to get himself ready for work as Judy tried to collect all her things as quickly as she could.

 

“I’ll go get ready at my place and I’ll meet you at the precinct.” She said trying to hide all emotions that were boiling behind her hammered head.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Soon after, she was out of his apartment without a single goodbye or see you later. Nick took the short amount of time he had to bang his head against a wall.

 

“Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! I-DI-OT!” He said in sync with every hit of the wall.

 

While it was true that society wouldn’t allow them to be more than friends, he still found himself stupid for what he said. He only hopped that they would be able to act as if nothing happened around each other. Yes, that was the plan. Nothing had happened and there was nothing to talk about, just… stay cool.

 

He sighed. Now was not the time to reflect on how much he had fucked things up. If he had any hopes to see the sun rise tomorrow, he had to get his sorry fox ass to the police station as fast as he could.

 

Judy mentally begged the bus to go faster. When it finally arrived at her stop, she bolted out of it before the doors were even fully opened. The effort was killing her and her head was more painful than ever but she still kept going as fast as she could. There was two reasons for it. Number one, she didn’t want to make Bogo wait any more than he already had. Number two, she thought that if she concentrated on things like going as fast as she could, maybe she wouldn’t cry.

 

She got dressed faster than ever with little attention to anything else. In no time she was already running at light speed towards the precinct.

 

She stopped in the hall when she saw Nick waiting for her, with the best fake smile plastered on that he could manage.

 

**~Why is he still here? Shouldn’t he be in the investigation office or with Bogo explaining things?**

 

Noises coming from her left attracted her attention. When she looked to see what it was she saw that a press conference was underway. The setup was similar to the one she had given all those months ago except that this time she was not on stage. It was the mayor that was currently speaking to the reporters and Bogo was seated behind him on the stage.

 

Bogo was staring at them with murderous eyes that screamed: “In my office, as soon as this is done with!”

 

Judy suppressed a gulp of anxiety as she placed herself beside Nick to watch the rest of the conference.

 

The mayor was an old white stallion named Sullivan Trotter. After Bellwether’s arrest, an emergency election had been held since there was no one in charge. Trotter had won with a large gap between his opponents a grizzly bear. Although Judy suspected that the still fresh predator attacks were a factor in his election, she wasn’t too upset about it. She herself had voted for him and the people loved him. He had done considerable efforts to ensure that predators were no longer viewed as savages by prey mammals. He had continued with the small mammal inclusion initiative Lionheart had started and he had almost doubled the funds allocated to inclusion projects for a whole variety of mammals. In a few words, he was one of the good guys.

 

It was also important to disclose that the grants he gave to the ZPD allowed for a slight augmentation of her salary so she might have been a bit biased.

 

Yes he had made cuts on the construction industry and yes some mammals thought he was going to bankrupt the city but you couldn’t do good everywhere when you were in his position.

 

“And I promise you that I will personally see that this investigation goes through and that the culprit or culprits will be brought to justice.”

 

Flashes from the reporters cameras assaulted the mayor as he finished his speech. Even Though they were behind the cameras, Nick and Judy still flinched at all the white flashes assaulting their senses.

 

The mayor started to answer some questions while Bogo rose from his seat and made a discreet movement of the hoof for Judy and Nick to follow him in his office.

 

While they were heading up the stairs, Nick noticed Wolford looking at them strangely with his nose twitching. Of course, Nick had forgot that they had marked each other last night by rubbing their scent on one another. Now that he could remember, he smelled the faint trace of Judy on his snout. Wolfs had way better olfactory senses then foxes and there was no doubt he could smell them, hence the curious look on his face. Nick gave him a look that meant for him to shut up and forget and then walked away.

 

Once they had entered Bogo’s office, the chief shut the door behind them and took a deep breath.

 

“Oh God Wilde! Couldn’t you at least have taken a shower, you reek alcohol.”

 

At least his sense of smell wasn’t as acute as Wolford.

 

He would have loved to explain why he couldn’t take a shower if he wanted to because he had lost a bet, but he knew that the question was rhetorical and he valued his life.

 

“From what I can see, you two spent last night getting hammered and from what I can guess, you did it together.”

 

Judy opened her mouth to protest or to say anything really that would have prevented him from digging up to much of the events. They were both trying to do as if nothing had happened and that would be hard if Bogo kept asking questions about it.

 

He stopped her, before she could say something, with his hoof.

 

“You know what? I don’t care. What you do on your free time is none of my business, but when it comes and affect your performances at work then it becomes my problem too.”

 

He looked at them and they both looked down.

 

“I could fire you for coming late to work with a hangover but I am not going to. I understand that Coon and Porkins’s death was tragic and got to you but I need you to stay focus. The only reason I’m not firing you is because I know that if someone is going to solve this mess, it’s you two. So go out there, and find that asshole! Dismissed.”

 

They got up and made their way to the door before Bogo called them out again.

 

“Oh and officers, one more thing. A message came in this morning from the prison. Bullwinkle, the moose you caught, was stabbed yesterday night. He didn’t survive. A full report is waiting on your new desks. I made the interns and the technicians prepare the investigation office for you two. You should find furniture more fitting for your size and Coon and Porkins’s investigator account have been changed so you could access them and every information they had on it. If you have any questions you can ask the technicians. You’re free to go now.”

 

With that said, Bogo turned back to his files and let them walk out of his office.

 

A few meter further, they walked into the mayor who was most probably heading for the Chief's office.

 

“Officer Hopps, officer Wilde! It’s an honor to finally meet you.” He said extending his hoof at their level for them to shake.

 

The mayor must have been in his sixty, a good thing for him he was born a white stallion. Even though, Nick and Judy could still see the unmistakable signs of old age like his deep shaking voice for example. However, it still managed to sound confident and experienced. Most politicians would probably have retired at his age, but he liked it too much to do anything else, a thing Judy could relate to.

 

“The honor is ours Mr.Trotter.” Judy shook is paw with both paws, trying to look the least hangover as possible.

 

“Please, call me Sullivan.”

 

**~Is he hitting on her? He’s like three times her age! Probably just trying to be nice.**

 

“I have heard you were the new investigators until this case was resolved. Is that true?”

 

“Yes sir. Chief Bogo thought it would be best.”

 

“Well I couldn’t agree more. I have high hopes for the first bunny and fox cop who also happened to solve the biggest case the ZPD ever had. I have no doubts that you two will succeed and if you ever needed to get the wheels of bureaucracy going more quickly at any points during the case, just call me I’ll get thing moving along.”

 

_ Remember Judy, you have a friend at city hall. _

 

Judy couldn’t help but think about Bellwether and how she had tricked her.

 

“Well, I would love to chat with you some more but I have a meeting with Bogo. If you’ll excuse me.”

 

The mayor went on his way wishing them a good day, a thing Nick doubted would happen considering his horrible headache and the amount of work that was waiting for them.

 

They made their way to the investigation office. The first thing they noticed when they entered were that the signs which normally displayed Coon and Porkins were now displaying their names, marking their new desk. Judy had Coon’s old desk, being in charge since she had seniority over Nick, and he had Porkins's desk.

 

The desk were the same size as before but the chairs had been adjusted so that they could utilise them. It probably would have been too costly for the ZPD to change all the furnitures in the room so they simply made some adjustment. This resulted in Nick and Judy having oversized desks which would have seemed comical to an outsider.

 

The first thing Judy did was to look for the report of last night’s prison incident. The death of the moose meant that they had no-one in custody they could interrogate. To Judy, it seemed like someone was trying to cut the loose ends and she was sure that their late friends were considered as such.

 

She finally found the file on her new desk and held it triumphantly at Nick so he could see it. When he did, he got closer to her as she started to read it.

 

“It says they have found the culprits, two hyenas and an hippopotamus. They apparently managed to sneak in tools from the kitchen into their cell which they used to force the lock. After that they would have used a homemade shiv to stab the guard who was guarding Bullwinkle’s cell. Fortunately it says here he survived the injuries.”

 

“Well at least there is something good about this.” Nick said.

 

“They then used the guard’s key to open Bullwinkle’s cell and stab him and cut his throat. Sweet cheese and crackers that's horrible.” She said when she looked at the photos.

 

Nick chuckled at her cute slanging.

 

“This looks awfully well premeditated to me.” He said.

 

“Yeah me too. This as to be connected to what happened in the warehouse.”

 

“Well there is also the possibility that he somehow managed to piss them off and they decided to take revenge. It’s the sort of things that happens in prison although it’s never as convoluted as this.”

 

Judy cocked an eyebrow and looked at him curiously.

 

“What? Don’t look at me like that, I had a friend who did a bit of time, that’s all.” He shrugged.

 

“Yeah right.” She said mockingly. “It says here though that he had limited time spent with the other inmates since he was…” She frowned.

 

“It says he was under protection.”

 

“Who put him under protection?” He asked.

 

“I don’t know it doesn’t say who.”

 

“Hold on. I’m going to see if those investigators account are worth anything and I’ll connect directly into the database.”

 

He pushed his feet against Judy’s desk to propulse himself on the wheels of his chair. He stopped in front of his computer and logged in. The desktop wasn’t his usual one but Porkins’s. Instead of the default background Nick had never bothered to change, there was an image of Porkins and the rest of the three pigs family they had seen on the photos in the cottage.

 

“They’re here again!”

 

“What?”

 

“The family of pigs that were on the photos in the cottage. They’re Porkins’s background.”

 

This time it was Judy who came to join him. She couldn’t push her chair however with her tiny legs so she simply hoped off and hoped on next to Nick. He tried to ignore her proximity, and how he could still smell himself on her. He tried to look at anywhere else but her and succeeded when he noticed that there was an app opened but the window had been reduced. Since he had just opened the account for the first time, it meant that it was Porkins who opened the app and left it running.

 

He clicked on it and a window poped up. The window was a live video feed of the cameras inside the cottage.

 

“What the hell?”

 

After looking around a bit, he clicked on button that said “last recording” and the date Coon and Porkins died. The room remained the same but the lighting was different and Nick could tell that this was a recording. The timestamps told them that the recording started at about the time they left the precinct and ended 6 hours after, probably being the max time the cameras could record.

 

Nick skipped forward in the recording to the time when they arrived at the cottage. Sure enough, he saw themselves enter by the back door, tranquilizers in paw.

 

“Carrots... Porkins recorded us.”

 

Judy’s mouth opened. There was so much she wanted to say, so many questions she wanted to ask but she only managed one.

 

“But… why?”

 

“Wait hold on…”

 

She looked at him while he simply looked up at the sealing. He mumbled some words she couldn’t understand, as if he was trying to remember his line in a play.

 

“This recording…” He started. “... was started from here when we left. Probably by Porkins when he got the warrants. Which means that they were the one surveying us. For some reason they sent us to the cottage in the express goal of recording us. Why?”

 

“The family of pig… Why would there be photos of pigs in a cottage owned by mooses? The cottage belonged to them, whoever they are. I bet though that they are related to Porkins.”

 

“That means they lied to us.” He said incredulously. 

 

They felt hurt for a moment that Coon and Porkins who they thought were good friends would lie to them. But if they did, there must have been a reason and a good one at that.

 

“They lied when they said that Bullwinkle gave them two places his ‘brother from another mother’ could be.”

 

Nick thought about it. It made no sense, why would they lie to them about it? Then a realisation it him.

 

“I’ll show you the tapes when we’re done. Like that you’ll be able to learn from the best.” He whispered the words Coon had said to them a few days ago.

 

Judy immediately caught on, on what he was thinking about.

 

“THE TAPES! The interrogation will have been caught on tape! Oh Nick! Nick Nick! Nick play the tape!” She said excitedly, nudging him with each iteration of his name.

 

“Ow! Okay carrots calm down it’s what I was going to do.” He rubbed his temple a bit to soothe the throbbing pain.

 

Nick smiled. He was happy the events of last night didn’t change the dynamic of their duo.

 

He went through the ZPD’s intranet and found the list of interrogation recording. But there were none that matched the date Which Coon and Porkins died. There was however a recording for the day before. That didn’t make sense though. Coon and Porkins had a day off then, and Judy and himself were busy patrolling all day.

 

He clicked on it and the video started. He could see Bullwinkle seated in the suspect’s chair, waiting for someone or something. They heard the sound of the room’s door opening and in walked Coon and Porkins.

 

“What do you want? I already told the two other officers yesterday to fuck off, you’re not going to get anything more out of me.” Said the angry moose.

 

That erased any doubt that the video was mis labeled. Coon and Porkins had in fact been there that day and they kept it secret from them.

 

“We know Mr.Bullwinkle. We know…” Said Coon after having slammed a photo on the table. They couldn’t tell what the photo was with the camera angle. “You see, our friends yesterday offered you more cozy accustomation. We want to offer you something much more valuable.”

 

“Protection.”

 

“P-Protection?” Asked the the awed moose.

 

“Yes.” Coon said. “What do you think they are going to think when they hear that you have been arrested?”

 

“They are going to believe that you started talking.” Answered Porkins.

 

Who was “they”? Nick remembered that when they had interrogated him, Bullwinkle had slipped and talked about a “them” before he closed up. Was the “them” the same people as this “they”?

 

“But… but I… I didn’t say anything.”

“Is that what they are going to believe? You’re a loose end, they will want to take care of you.”

Said Coon. “But we can prevent that from happening. We’ll give you absolute protection in exchange for some information. What do you say?”

 

“Fine I’ll cooperate.”

 

So it was them who ordered protection for Bullwinkle. Protection against a mysterious entity that they knew about but somehow Judy and him didn’t. It also looked like even with police protection, “they” had managed to get rid of all the loose ends, including Coon and Porkins.

 

“What do you want to know?”

 

“Let’s start with something simple. Where is your friend hiding?”

 

With a sigh the moose responded.

 

“In a old warehouse on the docks most probably. We use it to hide some stuff and get some deliveries there. Here give me a paper I’ll give you the address but promise you’ll protect him also.”

 

Coon noded.

 

They saw Coon handover the same piece of paper he had shown them the day after, only the moose wrote only one of the addresses there was on it.

 

“Good. Now can you tell us who exactly is part of this little organisation of yours?”

 

“I can’t.”

 

“Mr.Bullwinkle I thought we had a deal…”

 

“No it’s not that, it’s just that… I can’t. I don’t know them. They always approached us anonymously. The only thing I know is that they have a lot of big profile members, rich mammals you know and they said we would become rich too if we joined them. But they never once said a name.”

 

So that was how Clawson fit in Nick thought. He paused the recording and turned to Judy.

 

“Carrots do you know what this means?”

 

“Hum, no I’m still confused.”

 

“Mr.Clawson is the CEO of zootopia’s biggest bank. He says that whoever ‘they’ are, their big fishes. I’m ready to bet Clawson is one of them and that's what Arfur was trying to prove.”

 

“That would explain why he was following him! Clawson might have discovered that and then they promised the two mooses wealth if they did the dirty work for them.”

 

“Yes!” He snapped his finger in her direction. “However, it still doesn’t explain what Po as to do with any of this nor does it tell us who ‘they’ are.”

 

“Or why Coon and Porkins hid it from us. Keep watching, I’ll see if I can find anything on Coon’s computer.”

 

Judy went to Coon’s old terminal and opened it. There were many files on it, more than on Porkins’s. She clicked on the first one which was labeled person of interest.

 

In the file were other files named after the persons in question. There was a file for about everyone they had met during the case but some were bigger than others. She started by exploring files of relatively unimportant characters like the victims’s landlords and the sort. Those file didn’t have much in them but that was because they didn’t need to. She then clicked on Mr.Clawson’s file which was a lot more fleshed out. She quickly read the text file without learning much more than she already knew.

 

There was however something more. In the file were a large set of photos Judy hadn’t seen before. The photos were clearly taken without Clawson’s knowledge. After a few photos of him walking on sidewalks, Judy saw one which she found interesting. She didn’t know at first why this particular photo caught her attention until she realised something…

 

It was taken from the bar…

 

She had in front of her the photos taken by Arfur. They had been looking all this time for those photos to prove Clawson’s link to the case and all this time they already had them. And once again, Coon and Porkins had hid it from them. She wondered how much exactly they had kept them in the dark about.

 

She was about to click on the moose brothers file which was labeled with an extra “suspects” in parentheses until she saw another file with the same addition.

 

_ Officer Hopps and Wilde (suspects) _

 

She blinked as if to make sure she wasn’t allucinating. But try as she might, the file was still there, still very real. Normally there would be a text file explaining the person’s connection with the case and evidences or useful information in each of the files. But when she silently opened it, all there was was a note that read “God forbid it” and a list of photos.

 

“Ni-ick.” She called out with a trembling voice.

 

“What is it fluff?” He asked oblivious.

 

She simply motioned him to come closer which he did. His smile faded when he saw her screen.

 

“What!?” He said in a chocked tone. “How are we suspects, what the hell?”

 

She then went through the photos with him. Most of them were of them both, talking, laughing and bantering as they usually did. Something was different though, Nick’s eyes were not as she remembered they were back then. When she looked at the photos she could see the way he looked at her, a thing she had failed to notice on the moment. She didn’t ponder too long about it, this was not the time.

 

Similarly to those of Clawson, the photos had been taken from a distance without them knowing it. They were photos all dating from after the night howler case.

 

“This is so disturbing.” Said Nick.

 

She couldn’t disagree. To think they had been stalked for a long time now without them knowing anything about it.

 

“Why?” She asked. “Why would anyone stalk us? Were these photos with those of Clawson? I have so many questions now, none of this make sense.”

 

Why indeed was there photos of both Nick and Judy together, taken in the same fashion as those of Clawson?

 

**…**

 

The fake wall behind Po’s closet gave away with one last hit. Porkins forcefully removed the landlady from the scene so she wouldn’t see the evidences. If this was like in Mc.Arfur’s apartment, they didn’t want anybody knowing about it.

 

Coon stepped back and looked around. Just like in Arfur’s apartment, there were a myriad of photos covering the walls but Coon and Porkins were looking for one particularly disturbing set.

 

“Po wasn’t a nobody…” Started Coon. “he was paranoid.”

 

“It’s not paranoia if it gets you killed.” Replied Porkins.

 

Coon finally saw the set of photos they were looking for.

 

In front of them, on the wall of the victim’s apartment, hidden behind a fake wall, were photos of officer Hopps and officer Wilde. In front of them, were the photos of good friends.

 

“This is messed up.” Said Porkins. “Should we call them?”

 

“No!” Responded Coon quickly. “No, they can’t know about this, not yet.”

 

“What? Why not?”

 

“We just found photos of them in both victims’s apartment. As much as it pains me to say, they are now persons of interest at least, suspects at most.”

 

“So we should ask Bogo to take them off the case?”

 

“No, no. If we do that and they truly are involved, they are going to suspect something. The best is to keep them working with us until we can prove their innocence.”

 

“Or disprove it.” Added Porkins.

 

“God forbid it… God forbid it…”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tadaa! Next chapter should answer even MORE questions. In the meantime, you can comment. Comment if you liked it. Comment if you didn’t like it (but do be constructive). And comment even if you don’t want to…
> 
>  
> 
> Please I’m desperate for attention...


	10. Addendum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! I know it’s been longer than for most chapters and I know this one is smaller than most of them, but oh well. Even more questions get answered in this one which I hope you like because it’s should be a while before so much gets answered again. As always, enjoy!

Judy and Nick were still staring at the screen trying to understand just why Coon and Porkins had lied to them when a knock came on the door. It half opened, only to let a sheep’s head popout.

 

“Doctor Lumpy just wanted to let you know that the autopsies are finished and she has interesting results.” Said the intern before popping his head back out and closing the door.

 

Judy looked at Nick.

 

“We should probably go. It’s going to take our minds off the problem there so we can come back more focused after.”

 

It was an excuse. Honestly she didn’t even want to think about what was going on. It was painful enough that their friends had died, it was even more painful to know that they did because they didn’t trust them.

 

Nick simply shrugged, trying as always to seem like nothing got to him. It might have worked with other people, but Judy had known him well enough and for long enough to know that he really did care.

 

The forensic lab and the autopsy room were situated together in their own wing of the precinct. They had heard Coon and Porkins complain before about how it was stupidly far away from the investigation office and now they understood why. One would think that it would have made sense to place the two next to each other, but instead it took them a five minute walk to get to there. Admittedly, smaller mammals had lower walking speed than most who worked in the precinct, but still… five minutes! It was literally at the other end of the precinct.

 

When they finally arrived, they pushed the doors of the lab open and entered. They immediately spotted Dr.Lumpy, a female camel who was the lead autopsy surgeon. She was wearing a white lab coat and some reading glasses.

 

When she saw them coming, she stood up and let go of the papers she was working on.

 

“Hello officers.” She said with a forced smile.

 

“Heu… Hi… We… We got told you had stuff to tell us.” Judy said hesitantly.

 

“Yes, if you could follow me into the operating room I’ll be able to show you more privately.”

 

The operating room was a darkly lit place, separated from the rest of the lab by sound proof walls and windows with curtains. There was only one table that could hold a body for operation at a time, meaning the other two must have been stored in those weird lockers of different size in the back of the room. The corpse that was on the table was covered by a cloth, but from the way it laid on it, Judy could tell that the animal under it had antlers which meant it was the second moose brother.

 

Dr.Lumpy closed the curtains, preventing any of the personnel in the lab to hear or see what she would tell them.

 

“It was weird to see them like this...” Judy knew she was talking about Coon and Porkins. “Usually they would be the one coming down here in your place. And now, to see them on the operation table… it was weird. It took a toll on the team.”

 

“But it’s not on them you found something is it?” Nick asked. “Otherwise why would Thidwick be the one on the table?” He pointed out to the covered figure, obviously he had came to the same conclusion as Judy.

 

“No, there was something different about how he was… killed. You’ll see right away.”

 

The camel pulled the cloth to display the upper half of the dead moose. The sight made Judy gag and put her paws to her mouth. The right side of the moose had been shaved by the doctor to see better the horrible swelling that was there. Veins stood out, darker than the rest of the skin, spreading around it like an infection.

 

“It appears that the victim was injected with venom before he died.” Said Dr.Lumpy.

 

“Have you managed to identify it?” Asked Nick since Judy was still struggling to recover from the shock. He had seen a lot of disturbing stuff in the underworld, but he had to admit this was up there in the list of stomach turning stuff.

 

“Yes.” Said the doctor. “From the samples we have collected, it appears to be platypus venom.”

 

“Someone used platypus venom to kill him?!” Finally managed to ask Judy.

 

“Not exactly. Platypus venom is not strong enough to kill a mammal this size. It would have however, paralyzed him. The cause of death is a bullet entry wound in the middle of the head. The depth of it suggest it was fired from point blank, suggesting that the killer first paralyzed him and then shot him while he was unable to run away.”

 

“That’s horrible!” Said Judy.

 

“One more thing. If you would come to this side to see the entry point of the venom please.”

 

They did as she asked them.

 

“The entry point doesn’t come from a syringe and while only an expert could confirm it, it seems likely to me it came directly from a platypus’s dart. Which would mean that the killer would be a male platypus since they’re the only ones able to produce the venom.”

 

“So we have the species and sex of the killer, that’s good. What about Coon and Porkins?” Judy asked.

 

The doctor simply made them a sign to follow her as she headed for the medium mammal sized drawers. There she pulled two of them which contained both body bags. She in turn, opened the body bags to finally expose the cold dead body of Coon and Porkins.

 

Judy looked down for a moment before looking back up again. She half expected to move or to breathe but they showed no sign of any movement whatsoever. She looked up at Nick who stared into the bodies as if his sight and share will could bring them back. She could she his muscles were extremely tensed and she noticed that his paws were curled up in balls. She wanted to reach for them and hold him but she stopped herself.

 

“They showed no sign of venom in their bloodstream. Both were killed by 9mm bullets just like the Mr.Thidwick, only the entry wounds weren’t as deep. The fact that they were hit in the back of the head and that they show no signs of struggles suggest they were attacked by surprised. I have a full report here for you on all of them. It includes the venom analysis and all the data we found on the murder weapon.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

She closed the bags and the drawers again, which made Judy glad. Judy took the report and listened to some more details the doctor had to give. Once she was finished they took their leaves and walked out of the operation room.

 

They made their way out of the lab and back towards the investigation office where a lot of questions about computer files were waiting for them. Both knew this which made them both very tensed.

 

“I heard she just learned she was pregnant.” Said Nick while looking straight in front of him.

 

“Who?”

 

“Dr.Lumpy.”

 

“Wait, Dr.Lumpy is pregnant?”

 

Nick turned to her with a large grin. It took her a while to realise what he was doing.

 

“Yeah. She woke up one morning and noticed she had a third hump.”

 

Judy cracked a smile at his terrible and forced joke.

 

“That was bad, even for you.” She said still smiling.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

He was glad he had managed to ease the air and maker her smile. He lived for that smile these days. It was the thing he looked up to the most when he woke up the morning. He realised how cheesy it sounded, even in his own head, but he couldn’t help it, it was the truth. But as much as he liked to see her smile, they do needed to go back to business.

 

“So…” Started Nick. “The killer is a platypus and he used his own venom…”

 

“Yeah so… Where are you going with this?”

 

“Well it seems to me a bit reckless to use his own venom since it allows us to determine his species and sex.”

 

“Yeah, well maybe he didn’t think of that.”

 

“Yeah but here’s the thing… Only idiots or cocky assholes would be so careless. Seeing the equipment he had, I doubt this was his first time which means he’s not an idiot…”

 

Judy looked up at him. He was wearing his usual grin which no doubt made vixen weak in the knees… and maybe a certain bunny too.

 

“And Cocky assholes tend to stay cocky until they get caught, usualy because they were so sure of themselves. Which means that if our killer did this before, he probably used the same modus operandi back then.”

 

“You want to look into unsolved murder cases for platypus venom usage in the hope that it’s the same killer?”

 

“Yep!”

 

“Nick… Did anyone ever told you you were a genius?” She smiled at him.

 

“Aw carrots, you’re too kind.” He put a paw to his heart which made Judy giggle.

 

“But if they didn’t get solved before, I doubt they’re going to help us much.”

 

“We never know fluff, there might be stuff different or he might have slipped this time or we might just be better than whoever handled those case.” He said while flashing a smile.

 

“Yeah well I wouldn’t count on that.”

 

“Don’t sell yourself short carrots, you’re the best officer around her. But just in case, I also have another idea.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Well, I have this… friend let’s say…” Nick said the word friend like he usually would when he meant associate from his past life. “...who happens to be a platypus. He knows a lot of people in the shadier businesses of zootopia. He might know something about our killer or just stuff about platypus we don’t know nor does Dr.Lumpy. Of course that would mean finding him and meeting some less respectable people which frankly I’d rather not to if I had the choice.”

 

“I’ll see if I can find anything in the database matching our case. Otherwise you might need to get your contact list out.”

 

He made a quick frown when she mentioned his “contact list”, thinking of all the people they would have to meet.

 

They entered the investigation office again and both of them made their way directly to Judy’s computer.They had left something and they needed to get back to it. Judy took the mouse and slid it across the screen towards the person of interest folder. While doing so, the cursor highlighted a file and it made her stop.

 

_ Report Addendum _

 

Of course! How could they had missed it? If Bogo had known anything about what Coon and Porkins were hiding he would have told them after their death or he would have gotten her and Nick off the case. Since he didn’t that meant he didn’t know about it. omitting details on a report is an offense. So if you “forget” something, you create a report addendum and add it to your original report. Judy wasn’t sure she knew Coon and Porkins so well anymore but she knew they didn’t mean bad by keeping things secret, they must have had a reason. Which means in turn that they would have to do a report addendum once the reason to keep the secret was no longer valid. They had made the addendum in advance and it was sitting right there under her cursor…

 

The file that explained everything…

 

Judy looked up at Nick who shared the same expression of shock and realisation as her which meant he thought the same thing she did.

 

She eagerly clicked on it and a text file opened up. After the formalities it read as follow.

 

_“_ _I, investigator Randal Coon and my associate investigator Alboar Porkins admit that our previous report were incomplete. Events that happened during the investigation of the Po and Arfur case led us to believe that it would be in the best interest of the ZPD and the investigation to not reveal certain elements of the case until further information were acquired in the goal of confirming or refuting suspicions. I personally take full charge for the decision of leaving this elements out of the previous reports._

 

_ We reported after searching Mr.Arfur’s apartment that we had found the apartment to be sacked. This statement remains true, however we did not specify that we had found interesting elements in the sacked apartment. On one of the victim’s bedroom wall was an array of photo. Later information brought to us by officer Hopps and Wilde informed us that these photos were photos taken by Arfur himself while he tailed certain mammals. Only difference was that the information brought to us indicated only the existence of photos detailing Arfur’s employer, Mr.Clawson, while the array of photos found in his apartment showed photos of many different mammals including Mr.Clawson. After discovering these photos we decided to head to Po’s apartment to make sure we hadn’t missed anything in the previous search. We indeed found this time a false wall in the back of one of the victim’s closet. Behind the fake wall was an identical set of photos which meant to the two victims had been sharing information. _

 

_ Officer Hopps and Wilde also brought to us a journal they had found in Arfur’s office behind a locked drawer. We suspect that this book was the motive of the raid which had been done on the victim’s apartment. Their original examination of the journal only managed to confused them, however this examination was quickly made as they had not yet made it back to the precinct. They left to us to make a closer inspection of the book. The journal was written in scribbles as if it was incomplete, but from what we managed to make out, it seemed the photos were of mammals the victims believed to be all part of a same organisation. While we have no way to prove that this organisation even exist, it would make a reasonable motive if it did. We know not yet the goal of this organisation, but it would seem that the victims thought it was illegal. _

 

_ Identification of the other mammals featured on the photos revealed that most of them were CEOs or rich citizens. There was however some exception featuring important mammals and prominent personalities including two particular mammals. This brings me to the reason why we decided to conceal this for the moment. The two mammals in question were no other than officer Hopps and officer Wilde. While I personally doubt that Hopps and Wilde are involved in any way with the murder, we cannot ignore the fact that they personally asked to be assigned as help on the case. Informing of this in our earlier reports would have caused the reassignments of officer Hopps and Wilde which, if in fact were connected to the murders, would have raised suspicions. Therefore, we decided to keep it a secret and continue to work with them since they had already given us valuable information and since it would allow us to observe them better. _

 

_ I want to make it clear that I personally take all responsibility and that I know full well to consequences which entail form leaving information off a report on purpose.” _

 

Judy looked at it over again, wheels were turning in her head.

 

“Observe them better.” She repeated. “That's why they sent us to that cottage, they wanted to observe us.”

 

“So they could see how we would react to being sent there.” Nick completed. “If we were involved, we’d known that they were sending us somewhere random. They wanted to check our reactions.”

 

Silence fell in the room as they both thought things over.

 

“So…” Started Nick. “What’s the theory right now? Po and Arfur are trying to make a list of the members of this organisation. Somehow that gets discovered and the organisation hire two dry cleaners to do the dirty job, ironic when you think about it, in exchange for wealth. Then Coon and Porkins discover this and the organisation decides to cut it’s loose ends by eliminating both mooses and the guys.”

 

“Sounds about right, the question now is what do we do from that point on?”

 

“Yeah well I’m still wondering how they got the idea that we were part of this organisation. And thinking about it that means that not every mammals on the photos might be part of it.”

 

“Well first thing first, we need to get this to Bogo.”

 

Nick’s eyes widened.

 

“Whoa whoa whoa! Carrots you’re not serious are you? We can’t show him this.”

 

“What?! Why not?”

 

“We were suspect for crying out loud. We’re going to be taken off the case in no time and I don’t know about you but I personally don’t trust anybody else to solve this.”

 

She gave him a playful smile.

 

“You need to put more faith in the ZPD Nick.”

 

“Yeah right. The same ZPD that was unable to find the missing mammals in one month but we did in 48 hours? Plus, if we were to put this report out, internal affair is going to be shiting on every mammal who's name comes up in the case."   
  
Back at the academy, internal affair had been made out to be some kind of boogie man. Coming out of the shadows to lock you up if you ever screwed something up.   
  
"The only reason I passed the background check is because I never actually got arrested for anything. If internal affair puts its nose in it, they're going to have real investigations about our past and i'm not sure they won't find something. I might get fired or even worse, locked up."   
  
"But you were just a hustler. You've done nothing wrong!"   
  
"Thanks for thinking so carrots but no. There were times where money got tighter and i did some more... Questionable stuff, nothing too bad just... Yeah you know."   
  
"No I don't."   
  
"Well I'll tell you all about it another time. Point is, we can't show this to Bogo, at least not until we finished the case."   
  
"And then what? We're going to do exactly as Coon and Porkins did and when this is all over what are going to tell the chief? That we hid it from him because we didn't want to be taken off the case or because you've done some illegal stuff in the past?"   
  
"I'll come up with something when the time comes, until then we got to focus on finding who is behind all of this."

 

She gave him an annoyed look but ultimately agreed with him. There was few things that she could think of that were worse than losing him as a partner. She hoped it would never come to that.

 

“So what’s our first move?” She asked.

 

“Well considering the amount of information we just found on these computers, I think we should start by spending a bit more time going through them to see if we can find anything more. After that I guess we could always go through the database to find matching unsolved cases.”

 

She looked up at him again.

 

“What happened with that guy for you not to want to go see him so much?”

 

“What’s with the questions? Am I being interrogated here officer?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She returned his grin.

 

“Well I ain’t done nothin mam! I swear.”

 

“Still doesn’t answer the question…”

 

“When did you get so good at seeing when I was dodging the questions?”

 

“You’re still doing it.”

 

He smiled at her which made her smile in turn.

 

“Sly bunny.”

 

“Dumb fox. But if you don’t want to talk about it it’s fine but I’ll find out eventually if we don’t find anything in the database you know.”

 

“Yeah I know, nothing can be kept hidden from you.”

 

“You’re damn right. So, since it might take a few days for us to go through all the unsolved cases, all to save your pride, we might as well start now.”

 

The rest of the day consisted in getting up to speed with what Coon and Porkins had found and they started to read a few case reports. In all, boring desk jobs that would have made Judy jumpy, would it not be for the lingering pain in her head.

 

Their shifts ended without them discovering anything new. They clocked out and walked away of the precinct together like they would usually do.

 

“Hey carrots.”

 

“What?”

 

“The second game is coming up fast and we still haven’t decided what the loser’s going to have to do.”

 

“I’m starting to think that getting beaten by a bunny is one of those weird fetishes of yours.”

 

“Har har! You had luck last time it’s all. The Boogies are going to beat the shit out of the Snows.”

 

“Fine. You want to lose, well how about this? Loser has to wear a custom t-shirt made by the winner for three days straight. He’ll also have to come to work in the shirt and get in uniform her, just so everyone can see him.”

 

“Oh, you’re on fluff!”

 

“I can’t wait to see you with a shirt saying ‘bunny knows best’ on it.” She said with a movement of her paw as if she could see the title in the air.

 

“You wish.” He said with a large grin. “See you tomorow officer toot-toot!” He said while walking away towards his bus stop.

 

She waved him with an annoyed yet playful glare.

 

Today had been a weird day. She woke up in her best friend’s arm with a hangover, arrived late at work, had to watch the lifeless bodies of two of her friends and then learn that those same friends lied to her because they didn’t trust her. All in all this was a pretty shitty day…

 

And yet Nick managed to make it bearable.

 

It was a thing he did from time to time. When she was feeling down he always used to cheer her up with witty retort or inappropriate comments. Today was no different and she couldn’t wait to force him to wear anything she wanted.

 

Still, she was happy to head home to relax. She was going to need her strengths. She walked up the stairs to the corridor to lead to her apartment only to find the land lady talking with her two neighbours.

 

They stopped talking and looked at her. Then the landlady, Dharma Armadillo, grudgingly took a few steps closer to her.

 

“Is something wrong?” Judy asked.

 

“Go see for yourself.” Said the grumpy landlady. 

 

Judy walked up to the open door of her apartment to see what was going on. The whole room was damp and water was still trickling from the ceiling. The place looked like a ruin or a plumber’s nightmare.

 

“The pipe on the floor above broke up. Flooded this apartment and the ones next to it” Stated the armadillo.

 

Judy’s mouth hanged open. This was just what she needed right now. She clearly couldn’t sleep here for some nights before this was fixed. She needed to crash at someone's place and one name instantly came out.

 

But she ignored it.

 

After last night She couldn’t bare herself to ask him for a place to stay. The strategy for both of them seemed to be to do as if nothing happened and that would be hard if she asked him to stay at his place so soon after. No she needed to find someone else for their sake. But who?

 

Clawhauser was the first to come up but she doubted that being roommate with him would fit her. Plus he probably had nothing for her size...

 

Frufru maybe? While she was considerably smaller than her, her family owned probably lots of places for animals of different size. Although thinking about it, staying at a mafia safehouse probably wasn’t one of her best idea...

 

What about… oh no, it won’t work…

 

Hmmm… them neither…

 

She tried to summon more names from her mind but only one came up.

 

Nick, Nick, Nick.

 

She sighed, took out her phone and then texted him.

 

_ Hey Nick _

_ Do you mind if I crash at your place for a while _

_ My place got flooded _

 

_ … _

 

She waited a moment for him to answer.

 

_ Casas del Wilde is always open to you _

_ ;) _

 

**…**

 

“Yes I understand.”

 

…

 

“Yes they have indeed been assigned as investigators on this case.”

 

…

 

“What is it you want me to do?”

 

…

 

“Spying on them will be difficult sir, I have no real reason to interact with them that much.”

 

…

 

“Yes I understand that sir.”

 

…

 

“Ad maius bonum.”

 

The officer hung up and looked towards the corridor that lead to the investigation office.

 

Apparently he was spying on his colleagues now. Oh well, whatever the organisation needed him to do, he had to do it.

 

A shame Hopps and Wilde had to get involved though, he liked them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooo! Looks like they are going to be roommates. I wonder how this is going to turn out? *wink wink nudge nudge* In case you don’t know, I (and my ego) feed of the natural energy of comments. So who knows… Maybe that if you feed me more I’ll go faster...
> 
> Probably not but I’d still like to know what you think.


	11. You get the couch tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know it took a long time. Thing is, with school starting again, I’m going to have a lot less time to write so you probably should get used to it. Apart from that, I have changed the story description, tell me what you think about it. (It’s shit I know but I suck at descriptions) If you can make a better one for this story though just send it to me. If I see one that I like I’ll use it and credit you in the next chapter. Until then, enjoy!

**** Nick looked down at the small ball of fluff with an amused smile. She was moving her stuff in while she kept apologising for the “inconvenience”.

 

“It’s fine carrots. You know you’re always welcome here.”

 

“Thanks, but I promise you I won’t bother you for long. It’s just the time my apartment gets fix and then I’m off.”

 

Nick chuckled.

 

“How many times must I tell you? You’re not bothering me. Here let me help you with that.”

 

Nick took the cardboard box she was carrying from her. While it was encumbering to her, it was small for him so he took it with ease.

 

Judy didn’t have much in the matter of personal items. It’s not as if her shoebox sized apartment would let her own much anyway. She had about two bunny sized box of stuff, and that was all. Still, it didn’t mean he didn’t have to help her.

 

“You’re a great friend you know that?”

 

“Yeah, I’m amazing I know.” He said with a grin.

 

She returned his smile and looked up at him as he looked down at her. Their eyes met and they stood there, like this for some unknown amount of time. It didn’t feel awkward, it just felt right. Nick realised this after a moment and averted his gaze with a cough.

 

“So… For the sleeping arrangement. I was thinking you could take the bed while I’ll sleep on the couch.”

 

“Hunhun. Ain’t happening. It’s your bed, you’re the one who should sleep in it.”

 

“Thank you fluff but you’re my guest, which means you should get the bed.”

 

“Nick are you mad? I’m way smaller than you, it would be more logical if I slept on the couch.”

 

“Yeah but you also forget that, as you said, I’m a great friend so you get the bed.”

 

“Will not.”

 

“Will do.”

 

They both looked at each other with a challenging look, this was now a competition and both of them were set on wining it. Just as if a silent countdown had finally reached zero, they both bolted towards the couch in the hope of getting there quicker than the other. They arrived at the same time, but Nick managed to slide himself under her, propping her on his legs.

 

“Nick you’re in my place.”

 

“Your place is in the bed carrots and you should go there and set yourself up. Those bunny plushies won’t place themselves.”

 

“Make me.”

 

“You asked for it.”

 

He took her in his arms and placed her over his right shoulder. She started to wiggle and tried to resist him.

 

“NICK WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

 

“If the bunny won’t go to bed by herself then I’ll have to force her.”

 

“NICK PUT ME DOWN!”

 

“Not happening fluff. And with all that screaming I think some little bunny need some sleep.”

 

“You are obnoxious.”

 

“You know you love me.”

 

“Don’t.” She grumpily said.

 

“Do.”

 

“Don’t.”

 

“Do. Here we go, all bunny disembark.” He said as he put her down on the bed. “Now, you stay calmly there and I’ll go fetch your boxes so you can make yourself at home.”

 

She threw him an angry glare which he simply ignored as he turned back to get her stuff. When he came back in the bedroom however she wasn’t anywhere to be found.

 

He looked for her on the other side of the bed and then under it but she wasn’t there either.

 

“Judy?”

 

He came back to the living room to find her laid on the couch with a satisfied grin on her face.

 

“You want to play this? Because I can play this.” He said, returning his own confident grin.

 

He picked her up again despite all her protest and put her down next to the couch after he laid on it. She then immediately climbed up and laid down on his legs.

 

“I can stay here all night.” She said.

 

“Good because so can I. Oh and also I do want to inform you that I snore.”

 

“No you don’t.”

 

“And how would you know that?”

 

**~Because I slept with you before, you dumb fox.**

 

“Because I just know you that well. You’re not the type to snore.”

 

Nick frowned at her odd answer.

 

“Yeah? Well you might be in for a surprise.”

 

The two looked at each other defiantly. This was now a competition and there was no way in hell either of them would forfeit. Eventually their eyes became heavier and they both drifted off to sleep. Judy was comfortably nestled in Nick’s lap while he was laid back on the couch. In the end, no one used the bed.

 

...

 

Judy was the first to wake up. When she realised where she had spent the night, heat rose to her cheeks as she blushed.

 

Nick was still sleeping soundly under her. He looked peaceful like a kit so she didn’t want to disturb him, not yet. She would leave him five minutes before he would have to wake up and start to get ready for work. They didn’t want to be late again.

 

As she suspected, the five minutes past and he didn’t wake up on his own, so she made sure to change that.

 

“Hey wake up sleepy head. We have to make the world a better place remember?” She said while shaking him up.

 

“Hmmm! Just five more minutes.” He said, his eyes still closed.

 

“I already gave you five minutes.”

 

Nick grudgingly opened his eyes to look at her.

 

“What time is it?”

 

“5:30”

 

“Hurgggh! Go back to sleep carrots, it’s too early for this.”

 

“What do you mean too early? At what time do you usually get up?”

 

“I don’t know… Like six.”

 

“You’ll never have the time to get ready before work. Come on Nick, get up.”

 

Nick pawed her face without looking. He booped her nose and her cheeks.

 

“Where’s the off button on this bunny?”

 

“Har har! Funny slick.”

 

“Thanks.” He said nonchalantly while he tried to go back to sleep.

 

“Are you usually this tired in the morning?”

 

“I don’t usually sleep on the couch.”

 

“I offered you, tried to force you even, to sleep in your own bed.”

 

“Yeah well it became personal.”

 

“Fine, whatever just get up!” She said while rolling her eyes. “You’re draining all the energy in the room with how inert you are.”

 

Nick grudgingly stood up from where he laid on the couch, with a grunt.

 

“I’m starting to think having you over was a mistake.”

 

“Awww! Don’t say that, you know you love me!” She said with a coy smile looking at him.

 

“Seriously though, how do you have so much energy in the morning?”

 

“I guess that's what happens when you grow up on a farm.” She shrugged.

 

“You’re telling me that all of your siblings are this energistic?”

 

“Well maybe not as much as me but yes basically.”

 

“Remind me to never go to bunny burrows with you.”

 

“Oh shush, I’m sure you would love it.”

 

“Yeah, being surrounded by hyperactive bunnys who think I’m a wild beast. Sounds fun.”

 

She gave him a playful nudge in his side. She knew he was probably right though. Her parents had come a long way in accepting predators but she couldn’t say the same for all her siblings.

 

“Okay, enough messing around. Get up you lazy fox!”

 

“Fine fine.”

 

“What do you usualy eat for breakfast?”

 

“Cereals. They don’t have bug chunks in them so it should be fine for you.”

 

Nick poured them two bowls and handed one to her.

 

“It taste like moldy carboard.” She said with a frown after her first bite.

 

“I won’t argue with you on that, but they’re cheap.”

 

“You eat this every morning?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“No surprise you’re so pessimist about life. I would loose all hope in mammal kind too if I had to eat this every morning.”

 

“I think you’re over reacting a bit. You get used to the taste of cardboard after a while.”

 

She frowned again at the thought of having to “get used to it”.

 

“Seriously though Nick, why are you still eating this? I understand that before, money was tight but you have a steady income now.”

 

Nick shrugged.

 

“I never really bothered.”

 

“Well this as to change!” She said solemnly. “I’m going to do the groceries for you!”

 

Nick spat out the cereals he had in his mouth.

 

“Hum, no! Nonono no! No way!”

 

“What? Why not?”

 

“I don’t want to only eat carrots and lettuce. Plus, you don’t even know where the closest grocery store is.”

 

“Fine.” She said with an exasperated sigh. “But I’ll come with you. And I’ll pay for it.”

 

“Nope, not happening.”

 

“Nick, you have to let me pitch in. I can’t just sit here and do nothing while you go out of your way for me.”

 

“Carrots, there is no need to…”

 

“I’m paying Nick! And there’s not a word more to say about it.”

 

“But carrots…”

 

“Shush! I said not a word. Come on now, we need to get to work on time today.”

 

They both got prepared separately and took the bus together. Poorer and shadier looking mammals were giving them hostile looks, but they couldn’t tell if it was because they were cops, or because it was considered weird and unnatural for a bunny and a fox to be friends. To them, it really didn’t matter though.

 

…

 

Work today was… Uneventful.

 

As soon as they had clocked in, they went to the investigation office. The day had mostly consisted of them going through the ZPD database to find murders resembling the one of their friends.

 

They did find two cases that looked promising but were still marginally different. One of them was even closed, after the police arrested a platypus they thought to be guilty but there was controversy about it. The evidences were messy and some deemed them insufficient.

 

None of them happened in city central or were deemed important enough, which meant that it wasn’t handled by precinct one. If they wanted more information they’d need to go to the other precincts and ask for them.

 

They doubted that the murderer had only committed two crimes, so they assumed the rest of his victims were in the “missing mammals” list. They have been there for probably long enough for the ZPD to just forget about them.

 

It took them the whole day to go through all the closed mammalicide cases in recent past. There might have been more in earlier times, but searching for them would be pointless. They hadn’t yet looked to much in those they had found, that would be for another day, right now they just wanted to go back to casa del Wilde.

 

Not long after they had entered the apartment, Judy’s phone rang. She looked at the number to see that it was her landlady's.

 

“I need to take this.” She excused herself as she backed into one of the corners.

 

Nick looked at her, admired her, knowing that they could never be together. Sometimes, he wished he had been borned a bunny.

 

He mentally shook his head. No, it wouldn’ have changed anything. The only time she had shown interest in him in a more than friendly way, was because she was almost past out drunk. As soon as she had gained her faculties back, she had bolted out of his arms and hurried herself to tell him she wasn’t interested. He had cut her before she could, so she didn’t have to deal with the guilt of shutting him down. He smiled, she looked so cute.

 

Her eyes widened as her landlady said something. Nick lost his smile when he saw this, concerned for her.

 

“Hu yes… Thank you… Bye.” She said while hanging up.

 

“Is everything alright carrots?”

 

“Humm… The landlady called. They have inspected the pipings and… Everything is to change. It’s going to take two months.”

 

“Two months…” Nick was stunned.

 

“I’m sorry Nick, I’ll move out before then. I’ll just get an hotel and…”

 

“Let me stop you in your guilt trip right there. A) I’m not going to let you ruin yourself by staying in an hotel for two months. B) You’re staying here. I told you you’d always be welcome here and I’m a fox of my words.”

 

“But Nick, housing someone for two months is going to…”

 

“I’ll let you chose the cereals if you shut up and accept it now… Otherwise I’m going to have to kidnap you.” He added.

 

She looked at him with a smile that made his heart beat faster.

 

“Fine, but I’m only doing it so you won’t subject yourself to culinary torture anymore.”

 

“Now that’s better. Come on, we’ll at least eat what I already have before buying new stuff. I’m starving I could eat a whole bunny.”

 

She gave him a playful shove and a half mumbled schold.

 

They ate while watching a spanish soap opera on one of The few channels Nick had. While they didn’t understand what was being said, they had fun by making up their own stories and tried to predict what was happening.

 

The two deers were now alone in a shiny glare filled bedroom.

 

“This is it I tell you.” Said Nick. “She is going to admit her feelings and they are going to kiss.”

 

After a few heated words they couldn’t understand and a lot of overacting, the doe took something out of her small purse. After a moment they heard a detonation and saw the male’s face contort in a ugly overdone frown. It’s at that moment that the camera showed the handgun the doe was holding.

 

“Well, that was unexpected.”

 

“Not really, the guy killed her sister.”

 

“Wait, how do you know that?”

 

“I know a tiny itsy bit of spanish.”

 

“And you didn’t tell me!?”

 

“You were shipping those two so hard, I didn’t want to break your heart.”

 

The credits started rolling and Nick looked at the clock.

 

“Jesus, how long have we been watching this?”

 

“You didn’t notice it was a marathon?”

 

“Nope. Anyway, it’s pretty much time to call it a night and since you’re going to be stuck in this fox den for two months I might as well show you the shower. Also it probably would do it good to be used this week.”

 

She followed him to the bathroom where he showed her all the knicks of the shower.

 

“... and if it starts to make weird noises, shut it down immediately. Otherwise you might have sewage flowing on you.”

 

“That’s disgusting!”

 

“Well you make do with what you have. Don’t worry though, it happens very rarely.”

 

“But still often enough that you have to warn me about it?”

 

“Well, I mean… Don’t worry about it.”

 

He left her to her things and got out of the bathroom. It was then that he had a mischievous idea. The prey bullies back in his childhood used to do it to him but it was different between them. She would know he didn’t mean anything mean to her, just a bit of teasing. Also there wasn’t a whole school to laugh at her.

 

He waited to hear the shower start and then waited a bit more. After that, he snuck in the bathroom without making a noise. No doubt she had locked the door when he left, but the thing was… the lock was busted. He first popped his head through to make sure the way was secure.

 

Judy was hidden behind the shower curtain, humming to herself as she scrubbed her fur. Satisfied that she couldn’t see or hear him with the shower noise, Nick stepped in and quickly snatched her clothes before exiting the bathroom. Now was the time to engage part two of his plan.

 

The shower was good. It helped her relax a lot. She indulged in the feeling of hot water running through her fur for just a little moment longer before she stopped the shower. She reached for the towel and brought it to her face. The towel was fox sized so it could cover her completely and still drag on the floor.

 

Once she had dried herself, she looked for her clothes that should have been on the ground. Thing is, they weren’t.

 

“What the hell?”

 

She had no doubts she had put her clothes right there, so where were they? It’s then that the thought crossed her mind.

 

“NICK! YOU DUMB FOX!”

 

Nick started to laugh when he heard the angry bunny on the other side of the door. Door that slammed open to reveal said bunny wrapped in an oversized towel that made her look like if she was trying to move around in a sleeping bag.

 

Nick was waiting for her on the other side of the door with his phone in paw. He quickly snapped a photo of her when she opened the door. The camera’s flash left her stunned as she realised what he just did.

 

“NICK, ERASE THAT PHOTO RIGHT NOW!”

 

She didn’t even left him the time to response that she made her way to him as best as she could with the large towel. Unfortunately, in her haste to catch him, she didn’t notice the piece of the towel she stepped on. She took another step and found the towel to be tugging on her front. It made her lose her balance and she fell on the ground with a loud “thump!” She then noticed that the towel had came off and now only the ground she was laying on protected her privacy from Nick’s eyes. She quickly scrambled for the towel to cover herself as her eyes became wide, her ears fell to her sides and a deep blush tinted her fur.

 

This only made Nick laugh even louder.

 

“Here, let me help you fluff.”

 

He made his way back to her and before she could protest, took one end of the towel and wrapped it tightly around her. He then quickly and swiftly made a knot behind her back so that the towel now prevented her to move. She was now stuck in a cocoon at Nick’s mercy.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Instead of answering he took her and placed her on his shoulder.

 

“Nick stop it! Put me down now!”

 

He made his way with her to the bedroom and dropped her on the bed. The shock loosened the towel and she was able to get her arms out.

 

“Nick, I’m warning you! Stop this right now. What are you even doing?” She said while pointing her paw at him accusingly.

 

“Alright fluff, if you really want to know…”

 

He took her paw away from his face and put it at her side. Without letting go of it, he put his other paw on the other side of her body. He lowered himself so that he was hovering above her, her mouth merely inches away from his.

 

This made her freeze. She was again unable to move but for other reasons this time. The fact that he was so close to her when she only had a towel to cover her nudity didn’t escape her. She was looking directly into his eyes and her breathing became slow and heavy.

 

“I have something to admit.” He said in a husky voice that sent shivers down her spine. “There’s something important I meant to tell you for a little while now.”

 

He brought the tip of his muzzle against the base of her ear. The feeling of his warm breath there made her own breath hitch.

 

He whispered in her ear rather sensuously.

 

“I hustled you…”

 

_ Click. _

 

Judy heard a metallic sound and now felt a cold ring against the wrist Nick had been holding.

 

Nick stood back which allowed her to look at her wrist. It had been paw-cuffed to the bed’s post.

 

“You’re sleeping in the bed tonight sweetheart and there's nothing you can do about it.” He said with a proud smile over his face.

 

“NICK YOU… HURGHH! LET ME OUT!”

 

“Sorry carrots but this is for your own good. More precisely for the good of your sleep.”

 

“Nick, I swear…”

 

“I believe this is you pj?” He said while holding up her carrot patterned pajamas he had taken from her boxes. “Here you better get dressed… That is unless you rather sleep in the nude.” He said with a grin after he threw her her pj.

 

“Nick please…” She now begged as he moved to the door.

 

He turned around and looked at her again. He reached her and put his head above hers.

 

“Sweet dreams princes. We have a big day tomorrow.” He said and then kissed her in between the ears.

 

He then walked out of the room leaving a speechless and flustered bunny cuffed to the bed.

 

**…**

 

The police officer listened to the recordings again. After the big boss himself had tasked him with spying on Hopps and Wilde, he had managed to bug the investigation office.

 

They had apparently managed to find two old cases concerning their… Asset. If they found out anything more they might be able to follow up the stream to them. He needed to inform the higher ranked of this.

 

Hopefully they wouldn’t find anything and would be forced to drop the case, otherwise they might need to be dealt with like Coon and Porkins.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was thinking of maybe focusing less on the plot and more on the fluff for the next few chapters. Remember also that if you think that you can write a better summary than me (which you probably can) send it to me.
> 
>  
> 
> Otherwise, you know the drill. Favorite, follow and comment. It Makes everybody happy, especially me.


	12. Let's go shoping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, I have things to say… Sometimes I don’t...

**~I might have gone too far.**

 

Nick closed the door to the bedroom behind him. It had started as a simple joke and ended with a naked bunny cuffed to his bed. And that kiss, what was it with the kiss? It never had been part of the plan. The goal was to force her to sleep in his bed for the simple reason that he insisted on it and he was one stubborn fox. So why the kiss? It wasn’t needed, only he wanted it.

 

**~You have to keep yourself in line!**

 

He looked back at the bedroom that he knew hid the object of his affection… and naked at that. God did he want to go back in there and just…

 

**~And just what? Take advantage of her? Haven't you already done that?**

 

**~Maybe if I just tell her…**

 

**~No! She wouldn’t want me. I’m a fox for god sake, why would she ever be interested in me?**

 

And yet, he remembered how her breath hitched when he got close to her, when he whispered in her ear. Then again, it might just be a natural bunny response at having a fox’s jaw so close to her neck.

 

“A good night sleep. A good night sleep is all I need.” He mumbled to himself.

 

Nick changed into his boxer and laid down on the couch. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing. His mind however, kept him awake with the thoughts of “what if?”. Sleep did eventually find him but it was a light one.

 

Judy was still staring at the closed door. Her left arm was up above her head, tied to the bedpost. Not really the most comfortable position to sleep in.

 

She still couldn't believe Nick had done this. Moreover, she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t noticed he was cuffing her before he told her he had hustled her.

 

“It’s not even a hustle you dumb fox, it’s just trickery.” She said to nobody in particular.

 

She swore he was going to see some stars tomorrow as soon as she would get out. But for right now she needed to sleep. She was tired and needed all the energy she could muster to beat his ass.

 

Sleep however, did not seem to want to find her. Her mind was working at full capacity and it kept her awake. She touched the top of her head in between her ears where he had kissed her.

 

Why did he kiss her? Was it meant as a tease? A joke? Why did she even care that much?

 

She tried to turn on her side only to be painfully reminded that she was bound. She turned the other way and rested her head on her tied arm. The pillow was too big for her, so instead of resting on it she snuggled against it. It’s like that that she fell asleep, her body resting up against a pillow that smelled like a musky Nick.

 

She was the first of the two to wake up the next day… of course. Her cuffed arm still hung above her head and felt sore… of course. But most importantly, Judy felt irritated and angry… of course.

 

She waited for some time before she finally heard a knock on the door.

 

“Knock knock Hopps! Are you decent?”

 

“Screw you Nick!”

 

Nick opened the door to see her laying on the bed, still cuffed as he expected. She had put her pajamas pants on but had been unable to do so with the top since her arm was still tied. Instead she had just threw it over her to cover herself. It was the only thing covering her in fact. She was no longer wearing the towel since it was damp and last night had been a hot one so the covers were pushed down.

 

Nick suppressed a gulp and approached her with a key in paw. He acted as if he was releasing her before he pulled out at the last moment.

 

“What’s the magic word carrots?”

 

“Dumb fox?”

 

“I think I might just leave you there a little longer.”

 

“Nick please! I need to pee.”

 

“That’s better. Now just hold still for a second.”

 

Nick bended over her and had to focus to not try to steal glimpses at her barely covered chest.

 

“Those aren’t ZPD issued paw-cuffs are they?” She asked as he fumbled with the key.

 

Nick felt drops of sweat form in the end of his paws and he had to prevent himself from starting to pant.

 

“Nope.”

 

“Why do you have them then?”

 

“I always keep them around in case I need to restrain an uncooperative bunny.”

 

She looked at him while cocking her eyebrow.

 

“And what’s the real reason?”

 

“I’m going to stop you right there to tell you that no, it’s not for what you think. Cuffs can be useful sometimes for hustles.”

 

The sound of metal announced that she was now free from her restrain.

 

“It was however bought in a questionable shop.” He added in a whisper under his breath.

 

Judy brought her arm to her chest and started to twist her wrist, stretching it. She then looked up at him expectantly.

 

“Would you mind at least turning around?” She said with a nod to her chest after a while.

 

“Oh yeah of course! Sorry.” He said nervously and then turned to look the other way.

 

It didn’t take long for her to finish clothing.

 

“Okay you can turn back again.”

 

Nick looked at where she was on the bed to find the spot empty. Instead the now fully in pajamas bunny was at his feat. She jumped up and landed a punch on his shoulder as strong as she could. The punch could have make a grizzly whine like a bitch from the pain and it did wonders on Nick. He collapsed to the ground immediately, clutching his shoulder. For a moment Judy was afraid she might have actually injured him.

 

“ARGHHH! God damn carrots! How can a bunny punch so hard?”

 

Satisfied that he wasn’t hurt enough to not make snarky comments, she got closer to him as intimidatingly as she could. She grabbed his collar (he had the decency to put on a shirt at least) and pulled him closer to her.

 

His eyes were wide and scared as her own stared back into them with a fire that could burn his very soul.

 

“Nicholas Piberius Wilde, don’t you ever pull a stunt of the sort ever again, EVER! Am I understood?”

 

Nick quickly nodded and she let him go.

 

“Good! Now I have to pee.”

 

She walked past him and into the bathroom where she closed the door behind her.

 

When she came out, Nick was still lying on the ground rubbing his shoulder.

 

“Come on slick! We need to get ready for work. Oh and on the way back we’ll stop at the grocery store, I don’t want to eat shitty cereals anymore.”

 

“Yes boss.” Nick grunted.

 

She smiled to herself at how effective her punch was to put him back in place.

 

They ate and got ready for work, now both with a sore arm. Once they arrived at the station they knew what to do, even though it might not have been what they wanted to do.

 

“So you’re telling me…” Came the deep voice of chief Bogo. “...that instead of working on the ONLY case I have given you, you want to work on two old closed cases, one of which already has the culprit behind bars!? Care to explain?”

 

Nick and Judy were sharing a chair in Bogo’s office as usual. After they clocked in, they had gone to his office to ask for the permission to look into the old cases they had found.

 

“Sir, we believe that those murders might have been committed by the same mammal. We might be able to gather more evidences from those if we were able to investigate them also.”

 

“And what makes you believe that?”

 

“Well, the mammals were all poisoned with platypus venom and then shot. The modus operandi are similar.”

 

“You’re telling me, that you suspect these cases are related because they all involve a platypus!?” Bogo gave a sigh and passed his hoof over his face, stretching his features. “Hopps, when I said I had faith in you two to solve this case, that didn’t mean you could just go around and do what you want. You have to stick to protocols. Even if I were to accept, your reason to open the cases could be seen as speciesist. Any good lawyer would be able to get the perp out based solely on that.”

 

“Of course it would be considered speciesist if it concerned a prey.” Nick huffed.

 

“What was that Wilde?”

 

“Nothing, sorry sir.”

 

“That’s what I thought. But the point still stands. Without a better connection it’ll never stand in court.”

 

“We don’t need to prove he did the other murders as long as we can prove he did this one. Once we prove that, the jury will be inclined to see the connection to the other cases.” Judy explained. “All we need, is for you to allow us to look into them.”

 

Bogo looked at the both of them unconvinced.

 

“Please sir. These cases are connected I know it.”

 

“Sigh. Alright Hopps, I’ll allow it.”

 

“Yes!” She squealed before Bogo cut her.

 

“HOWEVER… Since both murders happened in Tundra Town, you’ll have to convince the chief over there to let you have access to the evidences.”

 

“Thank you sir.”

 

“Don’t thank me yet. Between us, I never liked that mammal. I’d be surprised if you managed to convince him. I’ll give him a call to let him know that you’re coming.”

 

Nick and Judy arrived in front of Tundra Town’s precinct. Both of the murders they wanted to investigate had happened in their jurisdiction so they were the ones they needed to see if they wanted more information.

 

The cold of the outside made them quickly scramble to get into the building. Tundra Town’s precinct was considerably smaller than precinct one. There was no great big hall with a cheerful cheetah waiting for them. Instead, it only had a small waiting room with an old looking hippo behind a small desk.

 

“Hi!” Judy said cheerfully. “We have an appointment with the chief.”

 

The hippo looked around for the voice but didn’t find them.

 

“Down here.”

 

The hippo looked down with difficulty due to her double chin. When she saw the two small mammals in uniform at her feets she gave a low “oh”. Her voice was rough like the one of a veteran smoker and she didn’t really seemed to care about anything.

 

“You must be the two small cops of city central.” She said with an undertone of mock. “Yeah the chief is in his office waiting for you, right over there.”

 

Judy knocked on the large door loud enough to make sure that it would be heard on the other side.

 

“Come in.” Said the male voice.

 

They looked at eachother puzzled. The door handle was way to high for any of them to reach and there wasn’t any accommodation for smaller mammals. Without her saying anything, Nick grabbed Judy and raised her on his shoulder. She emitted a little surprised sound before stabilising herself. She then jumped off his shoulder with her powerful legs and grabbed to the handle. She pulled it down with her weight, opening the door in the process.

 

The precinct’s chief, a mean looking polar bear, didn’t bother to greet them or even stand up. He instead kept his eyes on the paperwork in front of him while they tried to sit on a chair.

 

“Bogo tells me you two want access to old cases.”

 

“Yes sir, we believe that…”

 

“No.”

 

“What?”

 

“I said no, you will not be granted access. Now that that’s dealt with you can get out.”

 

“Sir, with all due respect…”

 

“With all due respect officer Hopps, Bogo might think you’re a good officer but I don’t! I have read the report and all I see in the nighthowler case is dumb luck. You were in the right place at the right time. You and your fox friend here yet have to prove to me that you actually are capable of becoming a cop.”

 

“Sir, we were both top of our classes in the academy and…”

 

“The academy doesn't mean anything. You think that passing the tests is all you need to take on real criminals out here? On the streets everything is way more chaotic than in your precious academy. The fact that you haven’t realised that yet only tells me you’re ill fitted to be more than just a meter maid.”

 

Nick, that had been silent until then, jumped at the insult the chef had just thrown at her.

 

“Sir, I have seen how she handles things out here and I have my fair share of experience with the streets, enough to tell you that…”

 

“Yes speaking of that.” He cut them once again. ”I still don’t understand why the ZPD hired a low life criminal of your kind to be on the force!”

 

Nick now stood on the chair with his paw pointed at the polar bear.

 

“I have done nothing wrong, you’re just saying this because…”

 

He was interrupted not by the chief this time but by the paw of his partner that rested on his arm. The touch instantly calmed him and he looked at her. Her eyes told him to sit down and let it go, a thing he did grudgingly. Without a word to any of them, Judy took out her cell phone and dialed a number.

 

“Hi, city hall what can I do for you today?” Came the cheerful female voice on the other side.

 

“Hi, I’m officer Judy Hopps. I would like to talk to the mayor if possible.”

 

When he heard her say it, the chief's face became white, or at least more than it already was.

 

“Ah yes, Miss Hopps. The mayor has put you on his emergency call list so you’ll be able to talk to him straight away. Let me just put you through.”

 

Judy waited no more than 10 seconds before she heard the worn voice of the mayor.

 

“Officer Hopps! What can I do for you?”

 

“Hi sir. You remember when you told me you could get things approved for me?” She said while smiling to the fuming polar bear. “I was wondering if you could convince the chief of Tundra Town’s precinct to let us review older cases. They might be related to this one.”

 

Nick smiled at her while she was listening to mayor Trotter’s response. She then took the phone away from her head and handed it to the chief.

 

“There’s someone who would like to speak to you.” She said smugly.

 

The bear took the small phone with two fingers and approached it to his ear. The phone was so small, he couldn’t talk into it while listening.

 

…

 

“But sir…” He said while putting the small phone in front of his mouth. He was interrupted by loud noises coming from it so he brought it back to his ear to hear what the mayor was saying.

 

…

 

The polar bear looked defeated and after he said his farewell to the mayor, he handed the phone back to Judy which she closed.

 

“You come into MY station, insult the work of MY officers and twist my arm to have it your way…” Said the chief angrily at them. “You may have access to the files but I NEVER want to see you two here again!”

 

“Thrust me, we don’t want to see you again either.” Said Nick with a grin.

 

The polar bear mumbled something.

 

“The archives are in the basement. Take what you need and we’ll send any numeric information we have to precinct one. Now go!”

 

They didn’t need to be asked twice. They happily walked out of the office and closed the door.

 

“Sly bunny.” Nick said once they got out of the office. “That guy was a jerk.”

 

“And a speciesist.” She added.

 

The rest of the day went on without a hitch. They got out with the records of the cases and went back to study them in the investigation office. They only had the time to quickly go over the report today, the actual investigating would have to wait.

 

For now they would be heading home and Nick had a promise to fulfill.

 

“Come on Nick, you promised!”

 

“Seriously carrots, there’s nothing exciting about…”

 

“Nick, take me to the grocery store now!”

 

“Fine, fine.” He said while raising his paws in defeat. “It’s just at the end of the road.”

 

The grocery store looked… filthy. Crass was rampant on the walls and the smell was horrible. Judy doubted the building respected all the sanitation requirements.

 

“Is this really the only grocery store around?”

 

“In this neighbourhood? Yes. There’s another one farther down that way but I really wouldn’t go there.”

 

“It’s disgusting.”

 

“You get used to it.”

 

Judy followed him inside the shop carefully as to make sure she wouldn’t step on anything disgusting.

 

“Come one. Cheer up carrots you’re the one who wanted to go do the groceries with me.” He said with a grin.

 

The Way he looked at her, smiled at her. Judy paused for a moment clutching her chest and Nick realised that.

 

“Carrots are you alright?”

 

“Yeah, I just… Where are the toilets here?”

 

Nick pointed them at her and she immediately went for them. She got in and locked the door behind her. If the shop was filthy, it’s toilet were even worse but that’s not what bothered Judy at the moment.

 

Her paws were sweaty and her stomach ached. Was she having a heat stroke? It felt like it but couldn’t be it. They just came back from Tundra Town for carrot sake! She splashed water across her face and looked at herself in the mirror, trying to calm down. And just as it came, the feeling went away. She stayed there just a moment longer to make sure she was indeed alright. Once she saw she was, she came out to join Nick.

 

He looked at her confused and worried.

 

“Judy, is everything alright?”

 

She giggled which only made him look more confused.

 

“Wow. You must really be worried to use my first name.”

 

The casual way she said it made him relax as he saw she was fine.

 

“Yeah… I guess I am.” He said more to himself than anybody else.

 

“Come on, where were we?”

 

“Choosing what we should eat for breakfast.”

 

“Oh yeah! That’s the most important part!”

 

They went on through the alleys, looking at food putting some in the cart Nick was pushing. Judy giggled at the stupid jokes he was making. All in all, she was having a nice time.

 

That was until she noticed the stares.

 

Judy was used to see mammals giving her sideways glance when she patrolled. Most people weren’t used to seeing a bunny police officer. The thing was, she wasn’t wearing her uniform so why were they staring?

 

“Ignore them.” Said Nick still looking straight forward, his smile had disappeared.

 

“Why are they looking at us like that?” She whispered.

 

“It doesn’t matter. Just forget them.”

 

“Nick.”

 

He sighed and looked at her with a sad smile.

 

“People could find… this… weird.” He said while making a gesture of his paw at them both.

 

“What do you mean by this?”

 

“Well… A fox and a rabbit making the grocery together. It can look… you know.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Oh indeed. She Hadn’t realised how outsiders could see them. They were very close even so for good friends. It was understandable that mammals might make assumptions.

 

It made her uncomfortable for the rest of the groceries and it seemed to make Nick angry. From that moment on, Judy noticed every glare she received until they reached the registers.

 

Judy got her wallet out but Nick stopped her.

 

“Please carrots, you don’t have to do this.”

 

“Nick we went over this already. I want to pay.”

 

She took out the money they owed and slapped it on the counter.

 

“You are so stubborn.” He said with a mock tone.

 

Nick carried the bigger bags and Judy the smaller ones. Once they arrived at Nick’s apartment they made dinner for two and ate it in front of the tv. It was now becoming their routine. They would watch shitty tv shows together until they were tired. Normally that kind of thing would have bored Judy to death but Nick managed to make it interesting.

 

He took the remote and shutdown the tv with a yawn that made his tongue click, while he stretched his arms above his head.

 

“Okay fluff you know the drill. Shower and then you go sleep in the bed.” He put emphasis on the last part.

 

“Or what? You’re going to cuff me naked again?” She said with a defiant smile.

 

“I might just.” He said seductively. “Or I might send the photo of you I took yesterday to Clawhauser.”

 

Judy’s eyes became wide and her mouth hanged open.

 

“You wouldn’t!”

 

“Try me. It would be a question of minutes before the whole precinct knew about it. Would you really risk that?”

 

He dangled his phone in front of her and she made a swipe at it. He got it out of her way just in time and hung it out of her reach with a sly smile.

 

“Nicholas Wilde, you… Urghhh!” She said defeated.

 

“So… Are you going to behave or am I going to have to force you?”

 

“Fine, fine. But if I do this you’re going to erase that photo.”

 

“Not a chance. It’s not as if you had anything to barter with here fluff. Come on now, hop along.”

 

“Sometimes I really hate you you know that?”

 

“Do I? No I don’t, because you love me.”

 

Judy grumbled but didn’t protest. She instead turned her back to him and went to the bathroom.

 

“AND IF YOU COME IN HERE AGAIN WHILE I’M SHOWERING YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE A BAD TIME!” She screamed as she closed the door behind her.

 

Nick chuckled and went to prepare the couch for the night.

 

Judy was laying in bed with her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. She looked at the clock on the bedside table which displayed 1:27. She hadn’t been able to sleep or even close her eyes for more than a minute.

 

She decided to go see if Nick had any more luck than her. She got up and walked out of the small bedroom to enter the barely bigger living room.

 

Nick was slouched on the couch, sleeping. His mouth was wide open and Judy could see drool running along his cheek while his tail and one of his arm hanged from the couch. His position was quite comical and Judy had to repress a giggle in fear of waking him up. She got closer to him to make sure he was indeed asleep.

 

“Nick?” She whispered. “Ni-ick?”

 

No response came, confirming her suspicion that he was asleep. She remembered him telling her once that when he drifted off, almost nothing could wake him. A smile spread across her face, he looked so peaceful so… enticing. She tempted little nudges at his chest and nothing seemed to phase him.

 

She took her courage in both paw and hopped on the couch and then on his bare chest (he always slept with only his boxers on). Nick mumbled and Judy braced for him to wake up. When he didn’t, she released the breath she had been holding and curled into a ball. She put her head against his chest, listening to his slow breathing. She suddenly felt the same feeling she had back at the grocery store but in a lesser form. It wasn’t painful this time and most of the heat was concentrated in her lower body. It quickly past and she let herself be lull to sleep by his slow breathing.

 

She was doing this because she wanted to make it a point of not sleeping in his bed while he had to sleep on his couch in his own house of course...

  
  


**…**

 

The chief of Tundra Town’s precinct was speaking on the phone with his boss, his real boss.

 

“Sir, with the information I had to give them they might…”

 

…

 

“Yes I understand, but what if they find something?”

 

…

 

“With all due respect sir, are you sure this is going to work?”

 

…

 

“Fine then, I put my trust in you.”

 

…

 

“Yes, Ad maius bonum.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter bites the dust…
> 
> I have made a plan for what I want to do for the rest of act two and it’s full of fluff. There’s 5 to 7 chapters to this act left approximately. Fear not though, because relationship and M rated stuff will come before the end of the act.
> 
> But until that time comes, you know what to do… Favorite, follow and comment. I feed off the life essence of those things.


	13. Shower vengeance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God school why! I have a lot of stuff to do and if I was responsible and did it all I doubt I would have time to write at all. Good thing I’m not responsible:)
> 
>  
> 
> I have to warn you that the language becomes quite rude farther in this chapter so if you’re easily offended well… you’ve been warned there’s not much more I can really do.

 

Judy was wired to wake up at 5:30 every morning. Growing up on a farm did that to you she supposed. She still usually used an alarm but it was more of a precaution really because she didn’t need it. No matter how comfortable she was, she would always wake up on her own at 5:30 give or take a minute. This time was no exception.

 

Judy slept incredibly well. Her head was laying on Nick’s chest, ears listening to his slow breathing soothing her like a lully. The movement of his chest lifted her up and down, cradling her. Her paws were against his side, petting his soft fur unconsciously.

 

When the time came and she woke up, it took her all her will to get off from him. When she did, Nick moved in his sleep and mumbled something like if he was disappointed. She looked at him and smiled while she watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful, without a care in the world.

 

This was one of their days off so she knew he would sleep in. She decided to go to the bathroom and groom herself. She didn’t know why she bothered so much about her looks, it’s not as if she was seeing anyone...

 

When she finished, she put on a tanktop and shorts and went to the kitchenette. Now that they had actual food instead of a petty excuse for cereals, she wanted to cook something for the both of them. Judy never really was that much into cooking but she did remember some of her mother’s recipes.

 

She made sure she had everything to make her mother’s blueberry waffle and started cooking. She chose that particular recipe because she knew Nick would like it and she wanted to thank him for letting her stay at his place. The smell reached Nick’s sensitive nose and it started twitching instinctively, bringing more of the sweet scent to him. His stomach took control of his body in the place of his brain as it was too early for it to properly function without coffee. He slowly opened his eyes and looked towards the origin of the heavenly smell and what he saw was a heavenly sight. Judy was standing on top of a chair as to have better access to the counter which was designs for mammals to size of foxes not bunnies. The clothes she was wearing hugged her round and muscular form in a way that was exalting to him.

 

After some time laying there and admiring her, Judy turned and saw that Nick was awake.

 

“Morning sly fox. See something that you like?” She said with a grin when she realised he had been watching her.

 

**~Think quickly, act fast.**

 

“Yeah, food.”

 

**~Nailed it! Nick Wilde strikes agai… Oh wait!**

 

“I meant food as actual food, not you!” He added quickly.

 

“I understood slick.”  She said after a giggle.

 

**~Still worth passing grade.**

 

Nick sat up and stretched his arms above his head with a yawn. Judy stole quick glance at his bare chest while he did so. She took both plates and went to sit on the couch next to him.

 

“Slept well in the bed carrots?”

 

“Very well.” She said hiding her blush.

 

She did sleep well, only thing is it wasn’t in the bed.

 

“Good news.” He said while taking a bite. “It’s been 7 days since the game which means you won’t have to smell my unwashed self anymore.”

 

Judy was secretly disappointed but there’s no way she was going to let that be shown. She was going to miss the smell of his musk filling the room. It always reminded her of his presence and it made her feel safe to know there was someone here she could count on.

 

“It didn’t feel like a week.” She said looking down.

 

“Yeah, it was a big week. Waffles are great by the way.” He added to defuse the tension.

 

Nick finished his breakfast and got up.

 

“Well, I’m going to take that shower now. I think I still have glitters stuck in my fur.”

 

She giggled and waited for him to close the door and then to hear the shower start. Once it did she got up and leaned her head against the door. Her ears were raised as she listened carefully for any sound coming from inside the room. Her bunny hearing superpower allowed her to get an idea of where Nick was. The sound told her he must have been in the shower now, she just hoped he pulled the curtains.

 

It was time for vengeance…

 

She slowly opened the door and was happy to see that the curtain was indeed pulled and Nick oblivious to her entry. She grabbed his clothes and bolted out of the bathroom without being heard. Now she just needed to wait.

 

After some time, Judy heard the water stop. She heard Nick whistling and pull the curtain. The whistling stopped and she expected him to scream her name when he realised that his clothes were gone. Instead she was received by silence followed by the door opening to a smug Nick with his lower half wrapped in a towel.

 

Judy would have been lying if she said that he didn't look handsome like that… in a fox kind of way of course. The steam coming out from behind him only accentuated, like smoke effect in a concert, his roguish wet fur that mated together on his chest in a way that send shivers down her spine. The fact that he was wearing nothing but a towel and that smug grin of his only made him look better.

 

“Where are my clothes carrots?” He asked slowly, seemingly amused.

 

She returned her own smug smile and put her paws to her hips, trying as hard as she could to not blush and not let her eyes drift too far down.

 

“Jeez, I don’t know! I think I saw them in the bedroom.”

 

“What is it bunny, you want to cuff me naked to the bed?”

 

**~Yes!**

 

**~No!**

 

“I thought that was your thing.”

 

“What are you up to fluff?”

 

“I don’t know.” She shrugged smugly. “But you won’t get your clothes back unless you go get them.”

 

Nick’s eyes narrowed and he looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out what she was planning. He slowly made his way to the bedroom door and opened it, being careful to spot any cuffs or other tools of vengeance. He opened the door and looked inside the room. Everything seemed to be in order. There were no cuffs but no clothes either.

 

“My clothes ain’t there either fluff what are you playing at...” Nick said while turning around.

 

He was cut short by the sight of the rabbit in front of him holding a brown bottle. She squished the bottle with both paw and it sent syrup all over him. Nick reopened his eyes and looked down at the bunny. His previously freshly cleaned fur was now coated with syrup and it’s sticky feeling on his skin was horrible. It was especially bad since Nick had always been the kind to keep his fur perfectly maintained and that he just had taken his first shower for a while.

 

Judy grinned at him while wiggling the syrup bottle she used for the waffles in front of his muzzle. She knew well that the feeling must have been torture to him. If he thought that she would have just let him go without payback for his stunt the other night, he was so wrong.

 

“Consider this as payback.”

 

“Thanks carrots. Now I have to take another shower.” He said while examining the extent of the damage. His amused grin had transformed into a disgusted and annoyed frown all to her pleasure.

 

“Well that won’t be a problem. Seeing how long you’ve been in there you must have enjoyed the first one.” She said suggestively.

 

Nick felt himself blush under his already red fur. He needed to take the attention back to her.

 

He stepped closer to her so that he was towering above her and looked down with a sly smile.

 

“Would you have been counting the time I spent in the shower, impatiently waiting for the chance to spray me with syrup by any chance carrots?”

 

He took some step closer to her, forcing her to standback until she hit the wall. He then leaned in closer to her, his face inches from her’s. He looked her with his lazy eyes and playful smile.

 

“What… No, I… I humm…” she said flustered.

 

Her eyes were frantically looking all over the place, not knowing on what to rest.

 

“Naughty bunny.”

 

“WHAT! No, I… I’m not… Stupid fox!”

 

“You can say what you want sweetheart, I’m going to take another shower.”

 

“YEAH! Y-You go… do that!”

 

Nick passed by her, leaving a flustered bunny in his wake. Judy felt herself become hot but from something more than just the embarrassment. She felt the same pain as before in the grocery store and she started to sweat. Thankfully, Nick hadn’t noticed since he had just walked past her. This was starting to worry her though. Should she go see a doctor about these heat stroke or whatever they were?

 

Nick took a shorter shower this time and Judy didn’t bother to make a prank. She was to preoccupied trying to figure out what was happening to her.

 

When Nick came out of the bathroom, he stopped and stared at Judy.

 

“Carrots are you alright? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

 

“Y-yeah I’m fine… I just need to take a shower sorry.”

 

She rushed past him and closed the door to the bathroom before he had the time to object. Nick was confused but knew better than to ask. If she didn’t want to talk about it, it was her choice and he had to respect that.

 

Judy turned on the water and tested its temperature with her paw. It was unreasonably cold so she turned the faucet to let more hot water in. No Matter how much she turned it the water remained cold however.

 

“Nick!” She called him through the closed door. “The water won’t heat up is that normal?”

 

“Shit, I must have taken the max allowed hot water with my two showers. I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s ok… I could use a cold shower right now.” She whispered the last part.

 

A cold shower was one thing, but this was something else. This must have been what it felt like to be “iced” by Mr.Big she thought. She washed as fast as she could but even then she spent enough time in the freezing water to start shivering once she had finished.

 

When she got out of the bathroom with the towel tightly pressed around her, Nick rushed to her immediately.

 

“Jeez carrots! You’re lips are blue, it looks like you skinny dipped in Tundra Town. Come here.”

 

Nick rubbed the oversized towel over her shoulders to eat her up.

 

“T-t-t-thanksss-s-s!”

 

“I’m so sorry carrots. I didn’t think the water would be so cold. Wait, just let me…”

 

He picked her up and put her down on the couch before he started to rub her again. The friction created by his strong paws was nice. Feeling herself getting warmer, judy leaned her head against him.

 

She felt him shudder as the cold fur of her head rested against him. It seemed he thought her head needed heating up too since he moved his right arm from her shoulder to pet the back of her head. His paw stroked her slumped ears starting from their base all the way down to their tip. Judy buried herself deeper into the crest of his neck. He in turn, rested his muzzle on top of her head while he continued to stroke her ears and rub her back. She stopped shivering after a while and closed her eyes. She could probably have fallen asleep like that if she had been given more time.

 

But she wasn’t given more time as Nick suddenly pulled himself away from her, seeming embarrassed.

 

“Heu, yeah! I’m sorry that I took all the hot water. Do you want coffee or tea or something?” He said quickly.

 

“No thanks.” She said trying to hide her disappointment. “Although… If you want to do something for me, I left some files at the ZPD and I would like to go through them today.”

 

“You want me to go to the ZPD so you can work on your day off… again?”

 

“Pretty please…” She said with her big eyes looking up at him.

 

“Gosh, that face is too cute. Using it to plead people should be illegal. Fine I’ll do it.”

 

“Yay! Just get there and call me, I’ll tell you where I put it.”

 

Nick grabbed his keys and went out. Once he was out of the apartment Judy quickly got up, took a pen and paper and started writing. She had planned to go out while he was away to buy him a surprise but she didn't want him panicking if he came back before she did.

 

_ “Dear Nick. If you’re reading this it means you came back too early you dumb fox. I didn't need any papers at work, I only wanted you away so I could sneak out and buy you a surprise. Thanks now you’ve ruined it! _

 

_ Carrots <3” _

 

She left the note on the kitchen counter and headed out too. She made her way to the grocery store to buy what she wanted. Last time they were there, she had seen stuff like foam fingers and face paint for Snows and Boogies fans. She wanted to buy some for Nick and herself for the next match. It would add atmosphere and make the game more fun.

 

**~You have to control yourself Nick!**

 

For a while now, Nick knew that he and Judy could not be a thing. Instead of chastising himself like he should have from the beginning, he decided to stay flirty in the limit of the acceptable for friends. If he couldn’t be with her then he could play some make believe and grasp as much as he could of what it would be like to actually be in a relationship with her. The thing his… he had crossed the line of “friendly flirting” many times now. Just this morning he had made innuendos and had hold her like if she had been his lover. He couldn’t help it. When he saw her freezing, it was almost instincts to hold her against him and warm her.

 

He had to control himself...

 

When the bus arrived Nick went to get his ZTA card out, only it wasn’t in his pockets.

 

**~Damn it I left it at the apartment. Oh well, I’ll catch the next bus.**

 

Nick turned around and headed back for his apartment.

 

Judy was walking back to casa del Wilde with two bags in her paws. She had received side way glances at the store but she managed to ignore them just fine this time. On the way back though she saw three mammals that looked to be following her. One was a fox like Nick, another a weasel and the last one a racoon. All predators with bad reputation. Judy turned into an alley to make sure they were following her and not just walking in the same direction by coincidence.

 

But they did follow her…

 

Judy turned around and faced them, ready to bolt out of the way at anytime.

 

“Well well well, what do we have here?” Said the fox in an ominous tone.

 

“It’s Wilde’s bunny bitch!” Added the weasel.

 

Judy ignored the offensive comment and puffed her chest to look as imposing as she could.

 

“I would inform you sir that I am a police officer so you might want to refrain from doing things you could regret.”

 

“But that’s the thing…” Said the fox smiling. “... we don’t like police officers and we don’t like preys like you either.”

 

“You came to the wrong neighborhood prey!” Added the racoon.

 

At that moment the fox took out a knife and Judy took a step back.

 

“Get her!” He commended.

 

His two friends rushed towards her and she attempted to run away but they managed to catch her before she could. The weasel and the racoon pushed her against the brick wall and hold her arms while the fox pressed the knife lightly against her neck.

 

“What do you rekon we should do with her boys?”

 

“I don’t know what do you usually do with a pred slut like her?”

 

“Mmmmhh, yeah I think we’re going to have fun.”

 

“Please just let me go.” she pleaded.

 

The fox gave a hearty laugh and got closer to her. His sharp, razor like, teeths were merely inches from her face, threatening her. He spat in her face and looked at her.

 

“And why would we do that cottontail?”

 

“ZPD! GET AWAY FROM HER!”

 

The four mammals looked towards the direction the sound had came from. Standing in the entrance of the alley, cast in shadows, was the silhouette of a fox holding a gun.

 

“I SAID GET AWAY FROM HER!” Repeated the shadow, pointing his gun at the assailants.

 

Immediately the weasel and the raccoon ran away in the opposite direction, not even bothering to look back. The fox on the other paw remained where he was.

 

“Come back you idiots! Hurrgh.”

 

The fox spun around to face his kin while holding the hostage bunny against him, the knife still pressed against her sensitive skin.

 

“Why don’t you come over and show me that gun of yours up close Wilde?”

 

Nick reluctantly stepped closer and they now could clearly see that what he was holding was not a gun but a stick shaped like one.

 

“That’s what I thought! You ain’t even in uniform.”

 

“Just let her go Reynard, please.”

 

“Oh what is it Wilde? You went from threatening to pleading. That was fast.”

 

“You don’t need to do this. Just let her go and we’ll go our separate way. No need for violence.”

 

“You know, I never tasted rabbit before. They must taste good since our ancestors were so keen on eating them. Tell me, does she tastes good Wilde? I bet you did have a sample didn’t you, you pervert.” He said while pressing the edge of the knife harder against Judy’s throat.

 

“Please Reynard, let her go I’ll do what you want.”

 

“You really did become soft hey Nick. What are you gonna do, cry?”

 

_ Cry little bunny, cry! _

 

The memories of Gideon’s bullying came back to Judy. She saw herself kicking the fox in the mouth with her powerful legs. While she couldn’t reach his face in this instance, Judy could still kick the fox holding her in other places…

 

She aimed for the crotch.

 

She jumped and landed a strong kick on the fox’s genital. It had immediate effect as the fox let her go and cursed under his breath while taking a few step back.

 

“ARGHHH! You fucking bunny bitch, you!!!”

 

Now was a bad time to remember that that childhood memory had ended badly for her.

 

But before the fox could stab her with his knife, Nick had jumped on him, pinning him to the ground. They struggled and Nick managed to avoid knife swings. Reynard attempted to hurt him by clawing at him, but with only one paw holding his weapon, Nick managed to disarm him.

 

“Get out Reynard!” Snarled Nick through his gritted teeth while he stood up above him with the knife in paw.

 

The other fox did just so and Nick kept his teeth revealed until the other fox completely disappeared into the alley.

 

“This ain’t over Wilde!”

 

Once that was done, he dropped the knife and quickly turned to look at her.

 

“Are you okay?” He said while he got on his knees and looked for any sign of injury.

 

“Yeah I’m fine.”

 

Once he was sure she wasn’t injured, Nick pulled her to him in a tight hug.

 

“I could have lost you.” He whispered in her ear.

 

At that moment, Judy was hit by another one of those heat stroke, this one worst than any of the others before. Her stomach hurt so much she couldn’t prevent the pained grunt to escape her mouth. When Nick heard it, he pulled away from her. He took her head into his paws and looked directly into her eyes.

 

“Carrots, don’t lie to me did they hurt you?”

 

The way he was holding her didn’t seem to help her as she felt the pain in her guts become sharper. She was prepared for it this time however so she managed to prevent herself from emitting a pained cry.

 

“No I’m fine Nick. It’s not them.” She hissed through gritted teeths. “It’s been happening on and off. I think I… I think I need to see a doctor.”

 

“I can carry you to a hospital right now if you can’t walk. Just let me…”

 

“No Nick you dumb fox.” She interrupted him with a smile. “It’s not that bad, I’ll just need to book an appointment. No need to go to the hospital.”

 

Time passed and Nick remained worried for her but eventually the pain passed and they made their way back to the apartment.

 

“How did you find me by the way?”

 

“I forgot my ZTA card and went back home to fetch it. I saw your little message and figured that since the grocery store is the only place you know around here, you had to be there. Then I smelled you in the alley and heard screaming coming from the same place.”

 

“Clever fox.”

 

“Dumb bunny. Jeez carrots, what if I hadn’t passed in front of that ally? You could have died! This neighborhood isn’t safe for prey’s especially small ones. Most of the mammals here are prejudiced against preys. I was before I met you.”

 

“Nick, don’t beat yourself over it. You did pass in front of that alley and you did save me. That’s the only thing that matters. As long as I have you around I know I’ll be safe.”

 

“Yeah, well next time you go out make sure I am actually around okay?”

 

“Fine I won’t do it again. Happy?”

 

“As much as can be right now.”

 

When Nick reached for his keys Judy noticed something. The shirt he was wearing had a red stained on his right arm.

 

“Nick you’re bleeding!”

 

Nick looked at what she was referring to and shrugged it off as he opened the door.

 

“That’s nothing. Reynard clawed at me I’ve seen worst.”

 

“Nick you’ve been clawed at and you’re bleeding, don’t take it lightly!”

 

“I tell you it’s nothing fluff. I’ll wash it and it’ll be fi…”

 

“Take your shirt off!” She commended.

 

“Whoa there carrots. Buy me a drink first at least.”

 

Judy looked at him unamused while her foot was thumping on the ground, threatening to make his downstairs neighbor file a plaint again.

 

“Fine, fine.” He said while he removed his shirt.

 

Judy stood on the couch and urged him to sit down. She took a good look at his injury and saw the distinctive mark of fox claws on his skin. As much as he wanted her to think otherwise, the cut was deep and quite bad.

 

“Don’t move.” She said while she went over to the bathroom and got the first aid kit from one of the drawers.

 

They taught how to treat wounds back at the academy. It was simple training really but still good enough to deal with claw wounds. She took alcohol from the vial inside the kit and put it over Nick’s wound to make sure it wouldn’t infect. Nick hissed at the burning feeling of the alcohol and Judy told him to remain still. She then used the bandage roll to wrap the tissue around his arm and cover his wound. Once she was done bandaging him, she let go of his arm. It probably wouldn’t take long for it to heal and she was glad of it. It did mean however that she couldn’t punch him in that arm every time he did or said something stupid.

 

The rest of the night was spent mostly in silence. They ate soon and did their own thing.

 

“I think I’m going to go to bed early tonight.” Nick said at one point.

 

“Yeah, me too.”

 

They both got prepared separately and went to sleep. Judy waited for Nick to fall asleep before she got up from the bed and went to the living room. She laid on his chest like she had done the night before and listened to his slow breathing. Her paws runned over the bandage she had out on him. She looked at it meticulously until her eyelids became too heavy to stay open. She fell asleep on him shortly after, her head burrowed in his fur…

 

Again, it was only because she had a point to prove…

 

**…**

 

Clawhauser was sitting at his desk like he usually did. He grabbed the last donut he had left for the day. He gave himself an imaginary pat on the back as he had managed to gage perfectly how much donut he would need to go through his shift.

 

Suddenly the donut slipped from his paw and landed cream first on the dirty ground. His perfect estimation ruined by slippery paws.

 

“NOOOOOOOO!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry, I didn’t have any cliffhanger for this chapter. I do have smo but I’m waiting to put them in the ones to follow. But until those comes you know what to do…
> 
>  
> 
> In case you don’t, I referring to favorite follow and put a comment saying how much you love me of course. Comments that say how much you hate me are accepted as long as you say why ;)


	14. Bunny hug

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Some people pointed out that they just let Judy’s assailant go. I was supposed to say they did call the precinct but I forgot to write it. To make up for it, I wrote about it in this chapter instead.
> 
>  
> 
> Finally there is an important message in the notes at the end of the chapter. I think you’ll want to read it.

 

Today was the day of the second game. If the Snows won again, they would move to the finals. If the Boogies won, there would be another and final match. But one thing was sure, Nick and Judy were going to have fun.

  
For a second time Judy woke up on Nick's chest. She carefully maneuvered her way off without waking him up. She was decided to not let the events of yesterday ruin today. Nick, that knew everyone, had called the precinct and told them what had happened. Bogo had immediately sent a team at all three of the perp's houses. Since they were off duty, they weren't part of the arrest but they had heard from the others that Reynard had struggled so much they had to tase him. Now both Judy and Nick regretted not being there. As for his wound Nick had insisted he didn't need to go to the hospital.   
  
Nick woke up shortly after her with his alarm clock going off at six. He yawned and stretched his arms as he stood up.

  
"Morinin' carrots. No waffles today?"   
  
"I'm glad you're letting me stay but I'm not making you breakfast every morning for two months."

 

“What a shame.”

 

They made themselves toasts. Judy put peanut butter on it while Nick had some weird mixture of crushed bugs. She made a disgusted frown when he took a bite out of it.

 

“What is it fluff? Can’t handle a few bugs?”

 

“I don’t know how you can eat that it looks so gross.”

 

“It’s not that bad. Want a bite?” He said putting the toast just under her nose.

 

She pulled her face as far away from the toast as she could while remaining seated.

 

“Hurgh! Does it taste as bad as it smells?”

 

“T-t-t-t. And I thought you wanted to try everything.”

 

“Well maybe not meat.”

 

“Your loss.” He shrugged.

 

They finished eating and got ready for work. It had already been a few days since they last made progress on the case.

 

Try as they might though, it seemed like the cases were missing information. They called Tundra Town’s precinct to make sure that everything had indeed been transferred. They claimed it did but Nick and Judy were still suspicious. It really looked like some details had been left out or outright deleted.

 

“I don’t understand.” Said Judy. “The photos of the crime scenes aren’t even in there.”

 

“Maybe they got lost in one of those archive spring cleaning.”

 

Every so often, the chief of a precinct would ask it’s officer to go through the archives and throw away anything that was over five years old. Sometimes though, there were mistakes and the officer would throw away a more recent case.

 

It was weird however that the digital archive didn’t have the photos either. That they had been thrown was understandable even though unlikely. But that it was thrown and deleted…

 

The whole thing was fishy.

 

Judy wasn’t the kind to give up however. She kept trying to unearth new information and if she was doing it then so was Nick.

 

When the end of their shift arrived, they had made frustratingly little progress. If things kept going this way they would have to find another lead.

 

“Come on hurry up the game starts in five minutes!” Nick called from the couch. “You’re as fast as a sloth.”

 

Before the second game, they had taken the time to use the stuff Judy had bought the day before. Nick wore a shirt with the colors of the Boogies while Judy had one in the colors of the Snows. He had a flag she had a foam finger and both had fur tint under their eyes.

 

“I’m coming!”

 

Judy appeared from the bathroom wearing a shirt that must have been at least two size too high. It wasn’t surprising really since she had bought the kit in a neighborhood with mostly predators of Nick’s size.

 

“Come on fluffy butt! Get that wosy tail over here.”

 

Nick took a single popcorn from the bowl that sat on his lap and threw it at her. Without missing a beat, she caught it in her mouth.

 

“Not enough salt.” She said.

 

“I don’t put salt in my popcorn.”

 

“Seriously? Then what do you put?”

 

“Butter.”

 

“Salty popcorn is better.” She said while taking a place next to Nick.

 

“Whatever, game is going to start.”

 

They looked at the screen intensively from that point on. Sometimes in silence, sometimes screaming goals and cheers for their respective team. Judy was booping Nick with her foam finger and he was waving his little flag in front of her nose. There were also popcorns thrown and laughs shared.

 

The zebra referee raised a red card in the air and the crowed started screaming.

 

“What is that?!” Asked Judy, paws towards the screen.

 

“It’s deserved Carrots. The mammal might have broken his leg.”

 

“BROKEN HIS LEG? Come on he’s obviously faking it!”

 

“How dare you say that? It’s just because one of your best players just got put on the bench.”

 

“Yeah! I heard you complained about Ronaldo didn’t I?”

 

“But the difference is that I complained that our best player was injured while your’s injured someone on purpose.”

 

“Please that bull is faking it just so they can have advantage.”

 

“You’re just mad because it’s 3-2 for us.”

 

“I’m not!”

 

Nick gave a slight chuckle as he turned his attention back to the screen. The game continued and with every goal the Boogies scored, Judy’s ears sank a bit down farther and her complaints got louder.

 

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!” Nick said both arms raised high up above his head.

 

“No! Nonononono.”

 

Judy covered her eyes with her ears and paws as her head tilted towards the ground.

 

“Have any suggestion on what I should put on that Shirt Carrots?”

 

“Shut up Nick. The game isn’t over yet.”

 

“No but it will be in 15 minutes and the Boogies have a five point gap on their side what do you have?”

 

Judy looked up at him with a grin.

 

“What you said. We have 15 minutes, more than enough.”

 

As if Judy could predict the future, the Snows managed to mark three points in five minutes. They only needed to make it past the goal line with the ball and they would win the match. Nick was starting to get nervous all to Judy’s delight. But the time dwindled down and eventually there remained 30 seconds to the match and the Snows were making their way towards the goal line with the ball.

 

“Come on just one goal just one please.”

 

Nick’s ears were pinned down against his head as he watched the seconds on the countdown go down.

 

“COME ON!” Insisted Judy.

 

That was it. They were going to make it before the timer hit zero, Nick would lose and the Snows would move to the finals…

 

That was until a certain kangaroo had something to say about that…

 

Ronaldo came out from seemingly nowhere, using his powerful legs to propel himself forward. He pushed the ball sideways, giving enough time for the timer to reach zero.

 

Nick’s ears flicked up as Judy’s fell down. A smile crept on his face and a frown on her’s.

 

“YES!”

 

Nick quickly picked her up and raised her with his arms extended. He spun around carrying her with him as if she was a kit. She might have been mad but he still made her laugh.

 

He swiftly put her down on the couch and with the momentum, ended up hovering over her. He was looking into her eyes and panted slightly due to the effort needed to spin her like that. She could feel his hot breath on her fur because of how close they were.

 

She might have lost the bet but she was smiling.

 

“I won.” He said slowly, not taking his eyes off of her.

 

“I know.”

 

“You know what this means?”

 

She didn’t respond.

 

He leaned in closer.

 

“It means I can make you wear what I want...” He said suggestively.

 

Judy was hit by another heat stroke but managed to not let it known. She knew Nick would only worry about her and she didn’t want that on his mind. She did have to bit her lip however to not make a sound. Nick looked at her confused but his posture quickly turned back to normal.

 

He got himself off of the couch much to Judy’s disappointment and turned to look back at her.

 

“Well Carrots, there’s a shop not far from here which makes custom shirts… So… I’ll just go there ok?” He said nervously.

 

“Ok I guess…”

 

Nick quickly grabbed his stuff and headed out. He was replaying the scene in his mind.

 

Him over her…

 

Her eyes that looked at him, sparkling…

 

Her front teeth biting shyly on her lower lip…

 

**~Maybe she feels the same way…**

 

**~Maybe you’re just seeing what you want to see…**

 

**~If I ask her it could ruin things between us…**

 

**~No matter that, even if she did, the ZPD’s rule about workplace relationships are clear. And there is no way I’ll be responsible for breaking her dreams.**

 

Nick shook his head.

 

“Yeah fuck you too life!”

 

…

 

“Are you kidding me?” Judy looked at Nick with a death glare to which he responded with his sly grin. “I am not wearing that.”

 

“I am afraid you don’t have a say on it fluff. You lost the bet and the rules were clear. You have to wear this tomorrow at work and get changed in your uniform there only. When our shift ends, you’ll go back into the shirt and only then leave the station. You can’t wear anything over it, it has to be visible at all time.”

 

“Nick, this is humiliating and offensive!”

 

“Where would be the fun if it wasn’t?”

 

Judy glared at the fox angrily. He was holding a white shirt that displayed only one sentence.

 

_ ‘Free cute bunny hugs!’ _

 

She was going to kill him…

 

“Come on carrots, at least try it on to see if it fits.”

 

She grabbed the shirt from his paws and put it on. It was slightly too big but not enough for it to be inappropriate for work. Nick had done it on purpose because he thought she looked cuter in oversized clothes.

 

“How did you even get a custom shirt made so quickly?”

 

“I had them make it in advance actually. I knew that the Boogies would win.” He said with a proud smile.

 

She rolled her eyes. Of course he would do that.

 

“It fits you well carrots. You should consider wearing it more often.”

 

“Laugh it off slick.”

 

“Oh what is that? You’re offering me a hug. Who would I be to refuse?”

 

“Nick no! Don’t you…”

 

She was cut short by him picking her up and bringing her to him in a hug. She huffed and let it happen. She had to admit the hug was nice.

 

“Okkay huggy bunny.” He said while putting her down. “Time to go night-night.” He said as if talking to a child.

 

“You’re unbearable!” She said while walking away.

 

“You know you love me.”

 

She didn’t bother to answer. She wasn’t sure anymore. She wasn’t sure if she loved him as a friend or something more. So instead she simply closed the door to the bedroom behind her.

 

Every night now, Judy would wait for Nick to fall asleep before she would sneak into sleep with him on the couch. She did the same this night, wearing Nick’s shirt while doing so. The only difference was that she was now beginning to doubt her motivations for doing so…

 

The days came and went and nothing particular happened.

 

On the first day, Judy wore Nick’s shirt. She received a few bewildered glare from her co-workers and a high pitched noise from Clawhauser. Of course the large cat couldn’t pass the chance to lift her up and hug her so hard, she was afraid she would get lost in his fat with the rest of his donuts. Nick had watch the whole thing go down with a satisfied smile on his face.

 

They continued to work for a few days on Tundra Town’s cases without ever making more progress. Every night Judy would join Nick and become more frustrated about work. She only needed to pet his fur however to calm her down. She would then wake up first the next morning and pretend she had spent the night on the bed. They would go to work, fail to make any progress and repeat.

 

“This is going nowhere.” Said Judy frustratingly. “Didn’t you say you knew a platypus that might know somethings about our murderer?”

 

“Maybe we should dig in a little deeper. We never know.” He answered quickly.

 

“Nick…”

 

“Or maybe we can confront Mr.Clawson now that we have photo evidence.”

 

“Nick…”

 

“Or we could…”

 

“Nick!”

 

His head snapped to her direction.

 

“There’s too much information missing in those cases for us to find anything and we can’t get Clawson in without admitting we know about Coon and Porkins’s addendum.” She reached to Nick and placed her paw on his arm. “Nick why don’t you want to talk to him?” She asked softly.

 

“The guy… The guy is an asshole let's just say. And well he knows a lot of stuff about me. Stuff that I don’t like, stuff that you won’t like.”

 

“Nick, whatever you’re afraid of don’t be. I know you, I know the real Nick and he’s a good guy and a good cop.”

 

Nick smiled and looked at her paw.

 

“Thanks fluff it means a lot to me.”

 

“You foxes, so emotional.”

 

“Does that mean I get a free bunny hug?”

 

“Well that was the other day but sure I can make an exception for you. Just don’t tell it to Clawhauser he might get jealous.”

 

That night, when she came to join Nick on the sofa, she hugged his sleeping form tighter than she usually did. She gave him a quick peck on his chest.

 

It’s a good thing she slept well like this because she was going to need the energy for the next day…

 

Tomorrow was Coon and Porkins’s funeral…

 

**…**

 

The officer was at home listening to today’s tape. Ever since he had bugged the investigation office, he had to listen to the audio recording at home everyday. It made for dull nights and no social life but he had been asked to monitor any progress they made.

 

“There’s too much information missing in those cases for us to find anything and we can’t get Clawson in without admitting we know about Coon and Porkins’s addendum.”

 

The officer stopped the recording and listened to that last part again.

 

“Coon and Porkins’s addendum.”

 

He had read every report filed by the late investigators and none of them had an addendum which meant…

 

**~Oh God!**

 

The only way they could have known about Clawson…

 

**~Oh God no!**

 

Coon and Porkins must have left what they knew to Hopps and Wilde. Which meant they knew too much…

 

They had to be dealt with, them and any evidences on the computer system.

 

It all had to go…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ======IMPORTANT======
> 
> In 2 chapters, the story will up to an M rated story. It already is on ao3 but if you’re using fanfiction.com, you need to either follow this story to be notified by email (highly recommended) for you to allow M rated stories to be shown in the filters.
> 
> Originally, I had planned to include the funerals in this chapter and have the smut in the next one but I thought that the funeral deserved it’s own chapter. It does mean however that it’ll be a very short chapter.
> 
> ALSO VERY IMPORTANT
> 
> Follow, like and above all comment, it’s important (for me and my ego at least).


	15. Lost but not forgotten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it looks like you guys really want that smut! I don’t think I ever had so many follows after one chapter. But before you get that sweet sweet lemon goodness, we’re going to church.
> 
>  
> 
> I said last chapter that this one was probably going to be a small chapter… Well I was wrong. I started writing and got carried away so this is really one of the biggest.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

 

Today was Coon and Porkins’s funeral…

 

Judy wished this day had never came, yet it still did. She still woke up half an hour earlier than Nick and she still had to get up before he did. She wanted nothing more than to stay like this her cheek against his chest. Nick Certainly made for a comfy pillow.

 

But she knew that if she didn’t get up, she would have to explain this to him and she didn't really want to. She took in, one last time, the feeling of his fur before she finally rose up and got off the couch. She deftly maneuvered her way to the bedroom where she waited for him to wake up, not wanting to do anything else with her morning anyway.

 

After some time, her ears rose up straight as they picked up sound coming from the livingroom. The door opened to let a fox’s head pop through.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Hey.” She answered.

 

None of them seemed too enthousiast. There was a sort of awkward feeling floating in the air.

 

“It’s rare that I get up from bed earlier than you.”

 

“Mmmh.”

 

Nick gave a low sigh and looked to the ground.

 

“Today is the day…”

 

“I know…”

 

Silence.

 

“So… I’m making breakfast, want anything in particular?”

 

“Not really.”

 

“Okay, just… come over when you’re ready.”

 

They ate mostly in silence, sometimes making little remarks, pretending like nothing particular was happening today. When they finished, they got dressed into their ceremonial uniform. They helped each other put on the medals and the more specific details. They were standing in front of the mirror side by side, looking at themselves and at the other even though they wouldn’t admit it. They both thought the other looked really good in the tightly pressed uniform.

 

Their ceremony uniform was neatly pressed against their body. The fabric was extremely clean and the badge and medals were well polished. They looked good in their suit and yet they hated it. All the other times they had put on that uniform, they were more than happy about it. When Judy had received a medal of honor after the nighthowler crisis or at Nick’s graduation. The costume had become synonym with happiness and pride. But right now they never felt more ashamed. Ashamed of parading around like beauty queens when their friends were dead. Ashamed that their friends were dead because they couldn’t even trust them. And ashamed of not even being able to tell anyone about it.

 

They made their way to the precinct where every other officers were also wearing their ceremonial uniform, even Clawhauser was in an outfit visibly too tight for the large cheetah. An uncomfortable feeling planned above everyone there. All tried to do as if nothing was going on but Nick and Judy could hear that every small talk in the corridors were forced and brief.

 

When the time for the morning’s briefing came, mammals of all size made their way to the bullpen. The room was more crammed than usual since all the officers present to the ceremony had to be there. Well almost all… The room was way too small to host a briefing for all the officers so Bogo would be doing multiple briefings the same morning. The first one was for the morning shift (Judy and Nick’s), the second one for the afternoon shift and the last one for the night shift.

 

Bogo entered the pen not to the usual sound of cheering but to an overwhelming silence. He wore his ceremonial chief uniform tightly, his left pectoral weighted down by the weight of medals. The cling and the clangs of the metal pieces were the only sound in the room that could be heard as he made his way to the podium.

 

“Good morning officers.” He said without much conviction. “Today we say goodbye to two good mammals and friends. But if we want to give them the ceremony they deserve we need to be focused. Some of you have been assigned ceremonial duties. You know what to do if you did as a mail was sent to you. I hope you all have been preparing to not screw this up. As for the rest, you will assist to the ceremony and escort the caskets. We’ll also need people on traffic and crowd control. I’ll give the files to those teams.”

 

Nick and Judy weren’t assigned to those tasks since they had a role to play in the ceremony. A big one at that. Every officers assigned at least one other person in the service to talk in their honor along with their family, the chief and the mayor, in the event that they would die on duty. Coon and Porkins had designed each other as their choice. Only, with both of them gone the chief had to decide on someone himself. Since they didn’t spend much time with the other officers, Judy and Nick were the ones with whom they had interacted the most so Bogo settled for them.

 

It made Judy wonder if she should put a second name with Nick’s on her own file. She shuddered at the idea of what it entailed. She rather not think about the two of them dying. She did wonder however if it would be better that they both died than just Nick did.

 

The ceremony was set to happen later in the day so for right now, they simply needed to clear the area around the church and the cemetery.

 

They didn’t encounter any problems while clearing out the streets, blocking the entrances and redirecting traffic. Now that the initial task was done, the officers that had been assigned to it were going to keep it that way while they made their way to the front steps of the church. A crowd made of all officers in uniform were gathered on both side of the steps. A corridor was cleared in the middle that lead to the closed doors of the holy building.

 

After a short wait, three decorated police cruisers stopped in front of the steps. Out of the two first ones came out the family of the fallen investigators and the officers that were charged with keeping them company. The last cruiser was driven by Bogo himself and was transporting the mayor as well as other city officials.

 

The families were dressed in black as well as the city officials. Coon had only one family member left, an elderly racoon Nick and Judy assumed must have been his mother. Porkins’s family was composed of…

 

Three pigs…

 

The three pigs of the photos…

 

Nick and Judy exchanged a knowing glance as the family passed in front of them, up the stairs. It was tradition for the loved ones to be the first ones entering the church, followed by the chief and the mayor. The doors opened to the priest, an elderly goat, that greeted the mourning families. Once they were inside, tailed by the chief and the mayor, the wave of police officers made it’s way inside the building, all removing their police hats as they passed the door frame.

 

Nick and Judy sat on the right first bench along with Bogo, the mayor and the rest of the city officials. Since they were to give a speech in the honor of their friends, they needed to be seated first row. The families sat on the left one.

 

Judy looked over at them. The two adult pigs seemed to be trying to fight off tears, trying to face reality face up and shoulders high. The young pig on the other paw, was crying into the side of his mother who was gently stroking him. Judy couldn’t help but wonder.

 

Once all the officers were seated and the doors closed, the organ started playing and everyone silenced. The priest spoke into the microphone on the podium, casting his voice for everyone to hear.

 

Judy wasn’t listening though. She was looking at the two coffins exposed at the front of the church. From where they were seated, they wouldn’t have been able to tell who was in which if it wasn’t for the photos of the deceased that accompanied them.

 

Judy’s eyes started welling up until she felt a paw slipped into her own. She looked at it to see Nick was holding her. She looked up at him but he kept his gaze in front of him, looking at the priest talking. It was peculiar to be holding paws but she didn’t complain. She even squeezed his a bit as if to make sure it wasn’t an illusion.

 

They hold paws like this for the rest of the ceremony. Every time Judy would start to tear up, Nick would squeeze and remind her he was there. Every Time it worked and she stopped crying.

 

The time came for the speeches. The first to come was the female pig. From what Judy understood she was Porkins’s sister.

 

“My brother was always dedicated to his duty. I remember the number of times he couldn’t come to dinner because he had a case to finish.” She started tearing up. “D-Don’t think he-he wasn’t a family mammal though. He always was… was so supportive of us.” She was now sobbing uncontrollably. “When… sniff… When we were going through hard times… He helped us without ever waiting for us to ask. He-He… sniff… He was like a second father to george. N-Never could I have dreamed of… of a better brother o-or uncle to my child…”

 

She came down from the stage whaling and quickly ran to her husband for comfort. Judy felt Nick’s paw hold her tighter and she interlaced her fingers with his.

 

After a speech from the male pig who praised his brother in law for his morals and happy going attitude, came the turn for Coon’s mother to speak. Eyes turned to the elderly racoon still seated. Her body was shaking and her mouth snapped shut with resolve, her lips tracing a firm line like a kid who refused to open his mouth to eat his vegetable. One of the priest’s helper came to her to help her stand up but she refused to move. Her head and paws were shaking frantically now, while her eyes started to leak. Her mouth opened and closed, letting little ‘no’s. She tried to extract her arms from the mammals trying to help her up like if she thought they were there to harm her. She fought them getting louder. A sharp cry escaped her, like an animal wounded. She cried and her cry was heard through the whole church. She cried, cried for her lost son. Through a shaky voice she screamed his name, shattering in tears soon after. Nick could see that she was afraid. Like if she acknowledge her son’s death it would only then make it real. She screamed again, squirming out of the grasp of the ceremony’s helpers who took a step back. She only stopped screaming when Porkins’s family came to calm her, crying with her.

 

To take the attention away from the poor lady who lost her son, Bogo rose up and walked to the podium to deliver his speech. Attention turned back to him but the sobs of the elderly woman could still be heard.

 

“This line of work is a dangerous one.” Started the chief. “Coon and Porkins knew that. They saw this world and saw the injustices that were in it. But they also saw hope. When a mammal’s life was wrongfully taken from them they saw that there was people who did not simply stand still. They sought to be of those people. They refused to let murderers go unpunished and that is why they took this oath. Protect and serve. And they did protect and serve the citizens of zootopia to their very last breath. The whims of faith have decided, in a cruel play, to take their lives too early. The very evil they fought caught up with them. In their memory it is our duty to not let their fight die with them. It is our duty to make sure that we honor their memory by bringing justice, just has they honored the memory of so many others by doing just so. They are lost but not forgotten...”

 

A few mammals lowered their heads and marked themselves when the chief finished his speech with the infamous words.

 

Judy knew what was next. She needed to get up, walk to that podium and give a speech, a speech she rather liked to not have to give. She found that her legs had been turned to stone and she couldn’t move at all. She felt Nick squeeze her paw and when she looked at him, for the first time since the ceremony began she found him looking back at her. He wore a sad smile and affectionate eyes.

 

“You go carrots...” He whispered. “...nothing can stop you.”

 

He was right. Of course he was right. She was Judy Hopps and she never gave up. She didn’t give up becoming an officer. She didn’t give up solving the nighthowler case. Now her friends needed to be properly honored and she wouldn’t let them down!

 

She answered Nick with a shy smile of her own and let go of his paw with great deception. She rose up and started walking to the podium that was waiting for her. She had prepared her speech and had rehearsed it many times now.

 

“I…” She started. “I didn’t get to know Coon and Porkins long enough. I wished I could have known them longer. Sometimes I feel like this was never meant to happen, like if I close my eyes… for just… long enough… When I’ll open them they’ll be there. I feel like it was never meant to happen because it never was. It never was meant for them to leave their families behind this soon. It never was meant for them to not get to see what tomorrow had for them, to experience those memories that never were and never will be… I’ll always remember them as great mammals and great friends whose end were never meant.”

 

Judy climbed down from the stage a bit too fast for how she was supposed to act in church. No-one seemed to mind though. She rushed to reach Nick who greeted her in a hug.

 

“I gotta go.” he said in her ear as he got up.

 

Nick walked to the podium Judy had left just moments ago. She noticed the confused look Bogo was giving both of them after their embrace. He shrugged it off and directed his attention back to Nick who was about to speak.

 

“When I first joined the force, I didn’t exactly have many friends. Coon and Porkins were amongst the first to accept me. They were always open minded and saw mammals for who they were and not what they were… I’ll miss them.”

 

Judy thought she could see Nick’s eyes water from where she sat. It couldn’t be right though, She never saw Nick cry.

 

He sat besides her and immediately took her paw in his, without daring to look at her. In response, she put her other paw on top of his and rested her head against his side.

 

She thought she could see Bogo, who was seated next to them, giving them another strange look but she didn’t pay attention to it.

 

The priest continued to read liturgical extract that few really paid attention to.

 

“And now, you can stand in line to pray and give your last farewell to the deceased before they head out for their final journey.”

 

Everyone stood up and Nick and Judy could no longer see the coffins in this sea of larger officers. They nonetheless knew where to go. Being in the front row, it didn’t take long for them to make their way to where their late co-workers laid.

 

Their caskets were opened letting them see the bodies they contained. The mortician had done a great job since they looked to be peacefully sleeping more than anything else. Judy could still see past the facade though. When she saw their face with their eyes closed, she remembered how they had found them. Laying on the ground in a puddle of blood, with an ugly frown on their face that contrasted with the peace that was being displayed right now. She had to hold herself against Nick for a moment since her knees failed her.

 

They knew the protocol. Once they had said their goodbyes and their prayers, they both put their hats on and saluted their fallen friends. They then removed their hat once again and moved on to let others salute them too. Officers lined up in the church's hallway, waiting for their turn to say farewell.

 

Once the line was finished and they alley cleared, twelve mammals, most wolves, approached the coffins. The closed the caskets and gently draped zootopia’s flag over them with their fine white gloves. They separated into two groups of six and framed the coffins with synchronized movements of mechanical precision. Each group had a leader who stood at the right back of the coffins and gave orders to the rest of the group silently enough so that no one other than them would hear.

 

Their mouths opened and they ordered to lift the cofins. They then walked on the spot to synchronize their steps. Once that was done, they slowly began to walk towards the exit. A column of mammals formed after them, beginning with the family of the deceased. They joined the column and followed them outside where two hearses were waiting.

 

The caskets were loaded into the hearses and all the police officers got into position. The column was now composed of two hearses leading the line of mourning mammals down the street. two rows of ZPD bikes with their lights on, framed the column. the vehicles kept a walking speed to allow for those that followed the hearses to keep up.

 

Slowly, the made their way to a graveyard at the edge of downtown, reserved for fallen soldiers, police officers or firefighters who had died in service. A crowd had formed on the edges of the blocked roads. Curious mammals watched the procession as it passed through town, some saluting, some simply watching silently. The road remained silent with the exception of the occasional kit who asked a question to his mother who would in turn shush him.

 

When they arrived at the graveyard, the twelve mammals who had carried the coffins out of the church, took them out of the hearse with the same precision as before. They carried the flag covered coffins to two graves side by side which had been dug up for the event.

 

Once all were gathered around, the priest began to recite the burial speech. all stood silently, listening to him rambling about the afterlife. Nick had never been the religious type. He believed that the whole concept of an afterlife and a benevolent God were inventions made to make us feel better about our shity lives. But right now he wished nothing more than for those things to be true.

 

After the priest was done, the twelve mammals from before folded the flags meticulously and handed them over to the respective families. They then proceeded to the slow descent of the coffins. Under the watch of teary eyes, they slowly lowered the ropes that supported the caskets, making it slowly descend into the ground as a line of seven police mammals fired three blank shots in the air.

 

A line was then made for each to have the chance to throw a pawful of dirt. The families were the first ones of course, then followed Bogo and the mayor and then the rest of the officers and friends of which Judy and Nick were the first in line. They took a pawful of dirt which was way smaller than those of their fellow officers and dropped it into the hole, partly covering the wood of the caskets. They did it for both of their late friends and then walked away.

 

Guilt ran over Judy as she covered the wood of the coffins. She had the impression of trying to hide the fact that they were dead because of them by covering her view with a thin layer of dirt. tears formed in her eyes as she walked away from the final resting place of their friends. It was her this time that seeked out Nick’s paw. He happily took it in his own and walked away with her.

 

Unbeknownst to them, a wolf was watching them. A confused and suspicious look plastered on Wolford’s face.

 

Judy dried up her tears. there was one thing left they needed to do before they went home. She approached the family of pigs with Nick in her trail.

 

“My sincere condolences.” She said raising her paw to reach the hoof of the larger mammal.

 

The female looked down to meet the bunny addressing her. She shook her paw and smiled of a forced smile.

 

“Thank you. You were with them before their death I believe?”

 

“Not exactly. We were the ones to find them but they were dead when we arrived.”

 

She left out the part where they were instead breaking into their house at the time of her brother’s death. Being the investigators for this case, Bogo had made them investigate also the mysterious break in that had occurred at Porkins’s sister’s house the very day of his death. The intruders had stolen nothing and broke nothing if not for the lock of the back door.

 

Of course they couldn’t have told him it was them since that would have meant explaining to him the reason why Coon and Porkins had sent them there in the first place. Knowing that Porkins was very close to them, it probably was because his sister had given him access to the cameras to watch on their son.

 

“But you were the first on the scene of the crime right?”

 

“yes.”

 

“Did you get a glimpse of who did this? Do you know who the criminal is.”

 

“I’m sorry…” She truly was. “...but we can’t share any information on the case by law until it’s closed. But I promise you that as soon as we catch him you’ll be the first ones to be notified miss…”

 

“Snowball… I’m… was sorry, Porkins’s sister. This is my husband Napoleon and our son George.” She said while pointing a hoof at the sobbing piglet besides her.

 

“Judy Hopps and this is my partner Nick Wilde.” Nick raised his paw. “We’re so sorry we had to meet this way. Your brother was a great mammal.”

 

“That he was.” Came the old voice of mayor Trotter. “My sincere apologies for your brother. He died a hero, serving the city. We are forever in his debt.” The mayor said while bringing his hoof to meet her own.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“I see you have met officer Hopps and Wilde. Don’t worry miss, there are no better mammals than them to be handling this investigation and I will personally see that they get all the help they need to bring to justices the one who did this. Speaking of the case, how are things going?” He said turning to the two small officers.

 

“Good.” She lied. They had reached a dead end when the two cases from Tundra town had turned out to have nothing hiding in them except for more questions. “We progress slowly but surely.”

 

“I’m happy to hear that. Once again my sincere condolence to you and your family.” Said the mayor before taking his leave.

 

After everything was dealt with, Nick and Judy went back home. Bogo had given them the day off since he didn’t want to have to deal with an over emotional bunny. At Least that’s what Nick assumed.

 

Right now, Nick was sitting alone on the couch in front of the closed tv. He didn’t really feel like watching anything right now. Judy had taken the opportunity to go see a doctor since they had the rest of the day off. She only had come here to change out of her uniform into civilian clothes and then left. Nick himself was no longer wearing the ceremonial uniform. He instead wore boxers and a camisole since he didn’t feel like getting dressed completely again.

 

He heard someone stumble with the lock of the door. He checked the time displayed on the dvd player and concluded that it was probably Judy coming back from the vet. He had a spare pair of keys made for her not long ago. When the door finally opened she didn’t even look at him he called her.

 

“So, how was it carrots?”

 

She jumped and finally looked at him as if she was surprised to see him there. She didn’t speak at first, only watching him wide eyed.

 

“Carrots are you alright?”

 

“Heu… Y-yeah I’m fine.”

 

She nervously looked away and went straight for the bathroom. She had walked a bit too fast for his like.

 

“Carrots, are you sure everything's okay?” He asked walking the the closed bathroom door. “You know you can tell me right?”

 

“Y-yeah thanks I… I’m f-fine. No need to worry it wasn’t s-something big.” She stuttered out rapidly.

 

“So what was it?”

 

“What was what?”

 

“You know… the stomach pain you had.”

 

“Oh that! It heu… It was something bad I ate, nothing else.”

 

“Something bad… You mean something you ate as been giving you cramps for over a week?”

 

“Yeah… It… It was something bad for rabbits. I ate something bad for rabbits and that's why it lasted that long okay. It’ll go… soon.” She said defensively.

 

Nick knew something was wrong. He didn’t want to push too much but at the same time he was worried about her. If she was going through something he only wanted to help in any way he could.

 

“Well… You know, if you need anything just let me know okay.”

 

“YeahthanksI’lltakeashowernow.” She spurted out fast.

 

…

 

Judy walked in the veterinary clinic for small mammals. Treating every size of mammals was a difficult and costly thing, so apart from the hospitals and larger clinic, each clinic served a size bracket of mammals. The good thing was that she could seat in any of the seat in the waiting room because of that.

 

She walked to the receptionist a sheep who looked to want to be anywhere else but here.

 

“What can I do for you.” asked the young sheep.

 

“I have a meeting with dr.Armadillo.”

 

“Your name?”

 

“Judy Hopps.”

 

He looked down on his sheet and found her name.

 

“Dr.Armadillo will be there with you shortly, you can take a seat.”

 

There weren’t many people waiting so she had no problem finding a seat. Not that it really mattered really since the vet appeared in the room only 30s later.

 

“Judy Hopps.” Called out the armadillo.

 

She rose up and went to meet him. He showed her the way to his office and she followed him. They both took a seat and he opened a file on his computer.

 

“So tell me miss Hopps, what is going on?”

 

“Well… Recently I have been having sort of.. heat strokes but they also come with stomach pain and happen randomly.”

 

“What kind of pain are we talking about?”

 

She proceeded to answer to his questions and describe her symptoms more precisely.

 

“Alright.” He said. “I’m going to need you to hop on this table over there.”

 

Judy climbed on the examining table and sat in front of the doctor.

 

“I’m going to go over basic test now, if you could please keep your eyes open.”

 

He shined a light in her eyes and watched her pupils react. He then closed the light and scribbled something on a sheet. He looked in her ears, took her temperature and her pressure and looked inside her mouth. Each time, he made note and little “hmm”.

 

“You can take a seat now thank you. I just need to go check something I’ll be right back.”

 

She followed his instructions and waited for him to return. After a minute he came back with a file in paw and sat down behind his desk.

 

“Are you in a relationship miss Hopps?”

 

His question took her by surprise and it took her time to answer.

 

“What?”

 

“Are you in a relationship or have been in one recently?”

 

“N-No, why do you ask?”

 

“Well it seems to me that what you are experiencing is not heat strokes but plain old heat flashes.”

 

“But… I take hormone repressants...”

 

“Yes and quit a high dose at that. Do you have a special medical condition I’m not seeing in your file to have such a strong dosage?”

 

“No, It’s just that… I don’t have time for stuff like that. I always was too busy trying to become a police officer to… take care of those things, so I got a higher than normal dosage.”

 

“Wait, police officer? You wouldn’t be that bunny cop that solved the Nighthowler thing would you?”

 

“Hum… yes it’s me.”

 

“Hun! Well congratulation. But I fear that the pains are caused by your medication. It’s not supposed to hurt like that normally.”

 

“Wait it’s the medication that’s causing the pain?”

 

“Well you see, this kind of hormone suppressants don’t actually suppress hormones directly. they instead increase the production of an other type of hormone in the body that nullifies arousal hormones. Your body registers this kind of augmentation of production and when it see other hormones despite that it doesn’t understand. To simplify it, your body sees a contradiction and concludes there is a problem, it sends an alarm to the brain and as you might now, pain is really just an alarm. There isn’t really anything to worry about but your body doesn’t know that.”

 

“Isn’t there a way to suppress the remaining hormones? Maybe if we augmented the medication?”

 

The armadillo shook his head.

 

“It might work but I wouldn’t augment your dosage. There might be too many bad second effects. If you ask me really your current dosage is already too much.”

 

“Then what?”

 

“The only way I see to make this stop his to go completely off the medication. you wouldn’t feel pain but you’d have to deal with the heat which would probably be strong, especially if you haven’t experience it for a long time.”

 

“There is no other options?”

 

“Well it’s the only one with immediate effect. There might be an other but I’m not sure it would work.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I’m not a psychologist nor am I a detective, but for the heat to kick in only now, I assume there must be a trigger. That’s why I asked you if you were in a relationship. I assumed really that there must be a young buck that has caught your attention and he’s the one triggering this.”

 

“It can be it, I don't know any bucks in zootopia.”

 

“It’s not my place to know these things miss Hopps. If you don’t want to tell me about it it’s fine. I’m just saying that if you think about when those episodes happened you might be able to figure out who is causing this. Then you can either remove yourself from that bunny’s company or… well you know… do bunny things. Meanwhile the only thing you can do is to go off your medication, a thing that I would recommend. Those things can be really bad for you know...” The vet went on but Judy didn’t listen.

 

She didn’t need to think about those moments to know it couldn’t be right. She didn’t know any bunnies in zootopia. When it happened it was always just herself and…

 

oh God…

 

**~No it can’t be right… or… maybe…**

 

“Miss Hopps?”

 

Judy snapped back into reality and looked at the armadillo.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

…

 

“Carrots, are you alright?”

 

God why did he have to be so insistent?

 

She was lost in her mind when she had came back and he had startled her when he asked how things went. What she really needed right now was to get away from him and to think things through. But he insisted on following her, asking questions and making sure she was okay…

 

Why did he have to be so caring?

 

She was now locked in the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face. He seemed to have let it go after she got out of the shower. The rest of the day passed without anything of note except for a lot of awkward silences.

 

She was laying in bed staring at the ceiling. She had decided earlier that she probably shouldn’t go sleep with Nick.

 

Shouldn’t doesn’t mean wouldn’t...

 

She couldn’t sleep in the big empty bed. It did make her realise how far she was in. She had hidden the truth for herself for so long...

 

the truth was that she liked liked Nick…

 

If liked liked meant love of course…

 

She grunted and rose up. It was a loosing fight anyway. At least her medication still had effect so she wouldn’t have to deal with that just right now. She first made sure that Nick was asleep before she went over to where he was laying. The benefits of accepting the facts was that she could now admit that he looked both cute and handsome when he was sleeping. She pressed her head into his chest and took in his scent. At that moment, she knew she was home and she was safe.

 

**…**

 

Wolford made his way to Clawhauser’s desk after his shift had ended.

 

“Hey Clawhauser!”

 

“Mmh?” Was the only thing the cheetah could answer since his mouth was full of donuts.

 

“I think that...IT… Happened.” The wolf whispered while checking no one was around to overhear them.

 

Clawhauser dropped his donut and looked at him wide eyed.

 

“It?” He whispered.

 

To which Wolford simply nodded.

 

“Proofs?”

 

“None… Yet.”

 

“What makes you think it happened?”

 

“I saw them holding paws at the funerals.”

 

“Awwwwwww!” Clawhauser exclaimed, putting his paws on his flabby cheeks. “They might have just been consoling each other though.”

 

“By holding paws? A pat in the back, I wouldn’t argue but this…”

 

“It’s possible! It was so sad I didn’t stop crying when they were giving those speeches. And that poor old lady racoon… oh my.” His voice began to corak. “I think I’m going into relapse just thinking about it.”

 

Wolford rolled his eyes.

 

“It’s not just that. A few weeks ago, they came here smelling like… each other.”

 

“Like each other?”

 

“Yeah, like each other.” Wolford repeated with gesture to emphasise what he meant.

 

“ooooooooooooh.” He said with a slow nod of his head. “We need proof though. Once we have that we can confront them about it and ask to know the exact moment it happened.”

 

“And then we’ll know who won the bet.” Completed Wolford.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT!
> 
>  
> 
> This is your last chance. Next chapter will be rated M and while that doesn’t affect those who are reading this on ao3 it does mean that unless you change your filter settings on Fanfiction.net, then you won't be able to see the story once the rating has been changed. I recommend following the story so that you’ll be notified by email everytime a new chapter comes out. otherwise you could always play around with the filters and check periodically to see if I updated.
> 
>  
> 
> Let’s be honest here, it would be better for everyone if you just hit that follow button wouldn’t it? And while you're at it why don’t you favorite/leave a kudo and comment too. Everybody wins! Especially me and that’s good...


	16. Lemon bar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I just want to start off by saying I am SO sorry. I know this has been longer coming than the other chapters and I do know that it was probably one of the most awaited to start with. What can I say, life is a b****. I had stuff to take care off and exams to prepare for which took time away from writing. To add to that I have never written smut before so it took me some time to get it right… or at least as right as I could, I’m still not sure I’m a 100% satisfied.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways, now that that’s been dealt with, lady and gentleman I present you The chapter that contains smut…

 

There was an itch. An insatiable itch running in between Judy’s thighs. She was still too sleepy to understand what it was, the only thing she knew is that it felt like liquid heat coming from in between her legs and that it needed scratching.

 

So she scratched it. Not with her paws, she was too close the the land of dreams for that, but by gently rubbing herself on the surface she was laying on. The movement started little and slow but as it rubbed against the origin of the itch, she felt the warm sensation of relief coming. Soon it wasn’t enough though. So she started to increase her movement and it’s speed. It seemed as if every time she scratched more the itch became stronger and required more attention. She pursued that relief as it ran away from her and over time and effort she progressively became more awake.

 

When she finally grudgingly opened her eyes she was panting, her hips were rocking back and forth, rubbing her heated core, on Nick’s chest. Her eyes shot wide and she stopped moving immediately. Even though he was still asleep it seemed his body knew what was going on as he let out a frustrated moan and a large tent was pitched in his boxers. She took a look at it and gasped at its size. She felt something wet run in between her legs and looked down to find her soaked pajamas pants.

 

**~Nononononono!**

 

She got off from him on weak knees and backed away from him, her paws pressed to her mouth as she realised what she had been doing.

 

**~This can’t be happening!**

 

Nick grunted in disappointment again when Judy lifted herself from him. He lazily swapped at the air with his paws to find her before he gave up and simply rolled over.

 

Judy was still backing up without looking away from him. She knew this was the effect, or rather lack thereof, of her medicament. She kept looking at… His strong… Muscular back… And felt the itch in between her legs grow into a brazier and felt the flames rise up into her lungs.

 

She turned around and reached the bedroom in a panick. Even during her puberty, heat wasn’t this strong. The doctor had told her that it would be bad since it had been a long time she experienced heat, but this? This was worse than she could have predicted. She had to restrain herself from lettings her paws slide down into her pajamas and…

 

**~Stay focused!**

 

She slammed the door of the bedroom and locked herself in. She then curled up in a ball on the bed and tried to calm herself.

 

The slamming of the door woke Nick. His head shot up startled and he looked around to see what was going on.

 

“Judy?”

 

His senses came to him one by one as he woke up. He sniffed the air and smelled… Something sweet. The room was filled with the scent but for some reason, it seemed to be stronger on his chest.

 

He took it in a bit longer. He didn’t know what it was but God did it smell good! His nose twitched as it tried unconsciously to take as much of the scent in as it could. He found another sweet spot, more of a trail really, that went to… The bedroom?

 

He suddenly remembered what had woken him in the first place. He got up and walked to the bedroom’s door.

 

“Judy are you okay?” He asked to the closed door.

 

Suddenly the apartment seemed to become even quieter as if time itself had stopped between two breaths.

 

“Yeah I’m fine.” She blurted out rapidly.

 

“Want to let me come in?” He said while twisting the locked door. He had become good at reading her since they knew each other and he knew she wasn’t okay.

 

“No I’m not decent!”

 

It wasn’t completely false…

 

“Okay… Well I’m going to make breakfast.” Nick said as he turned away from the door.

 

Judy got changed and took a deep breath before opening the door. The Itch was still there, like an afterthought and she started to wonder if it would ever go away. She walked out of the room to join Nick in eating without looking at him.

 

He tried to make small talk with her but she insisted on keeping her answers as brief as possible and on not looking at him. At one point, Nick got tired of trying and just continued to eat in silence. The rest of the day up to them arriving at the precinct was spent this way. Every Time Nick would try to start a conversation she would shut it down.

 

Once they passed the doors of the precinct, she didn’t wait for him before she ran to the investigation office. Nick walked to the front desk where Clawhauser was speaking with Wolford. He thought he heard Clawhauser say:” shhh! He’s coming our way!” But he could have mistaken.

 

“Hey Guys!”

 

“Hey Nick!” They both said in unison, earning a confused look from the fox while he sipped on his coffee.

 

“Why isn’t your partner with you?” Asked Wolford.

 

“I don’t know, she’s been acting kinda weird and distant since yesterday. I was actually hoping that you knew what I must have done to piss her off.”

 

“I don’t know. You’re be the one who should know.”

 

“Come on guys, I must have done something obviously stupid.”

 

“Wait, what’s that smell?” Asked Wolford sniffing the air.

 

“Oh that. I think Judy decided to put perfume on this morning. You think this has something to do with it?”

 

Out of all the canines, wolves were the one with the best sense of smell. That’s why they were so popular amongst the ZPD or in private security companies. Their nose gave them extra insight on the world around them.

 

So when Wolford took deep breaths to better analyse the smell, he began to deconstruct it immediately. The first thing that hit him was the foundation of the smell. Like an interchangeable base upon which the rest of scent was built on. Smells varied from species to species but they usually shared common points which could easily be identified, the rest was just extra decoration. Wolford could tell from the lingering trail what species had passed there, how long ago had she been there and where she was going. But the important was that he had recognised the smell and when he did, he looked down on the fox in front of him with a smile so large it threatened to crack his jaw.

 

“Oh it’s not perfume Wilde… It’s not perfume…” He said all too happy.

 

“What is it then?”

 

“What you’ve never smelled a female in heat before?”

 

Nick’s eyes slowly widened and his jaw dropped open as the realisation hit him.

 

“W-wha…”

 

He could smell it now. The faint trail of hormones and… Well you know… Bunny needs. It was slightly different from what he had smelled on vixens before and it made it all too sweet.

 

“Wait aren’t bunnies in heat all year long?” Interjected Clawhauser.

 

Wolford shrugged. “Maybe something has got her all worked up. Any idea on what that could be Wilde?” The wolf asked mischievously.

 

Nick wasn’t listening to the obviously rhetorical question though. He instead kept on taking in the addicting scent. Knowing what it was made it all the more exhilarating. He felt something stir deep inside him.

 

He was getting aroused.

 

Suddenly Nick realised where he was. Wolford and Clawhauser looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to answer the question. He had to get out of here, else Wolford caught on his own excitement growing.

 

“I-I-I-I got t-to go!” He spat out with great difficulty before running towards the investigation office without looking back.

 

Unfortunately it was too late for the smell to not reach Wolford.

 

“Yeah he got it bad for her.” He said.

 

“Doesn’t mean they’re dating though. The bet is still open and the other guys won't accept anything else than concrete proof.”

 

“Don't you worry… We’ll make the crack… Eventually.”

 

“Why don't we just go and asked them instead?”

 

“And face the wrath of Hopps? I’d rather keep all my limbs thank you.”

 

Nick followed the smell almost instinctively to the investigation office. When he opened the doors he saw her at her desk, head perched above paperwork obviously trying to avoid looking at him. The smell was so strong it made him stop in his track. He closed his eyes and indulged in it just a bit more before he had to focus back on work. He let out something between a snarl and a moan along with the breath he had hold. Judy snapped her head at him with a curious look.

 

“Sorry that was my stomach.”

 

“We just ate?”

 

**~At least I got her talking to me again.**

 

“Hey, I’m a hungry fox.” He said while flashing her a smile.

 

Seeing it, she immediately looked back at her work blushing.

 

**~And here she goes.**

 

Nick made his way to his own desk and sat down.

 

“So…” Judy started nervously still without looking at him. “That platypus friend of yours… Who is he?”

 

Seeing that the two Tundra Town cases they had looked into were cold (pun not intended), they had to fall back to option B. Nick had mentioned he knew a guy, another platypus, who could help them find the one they were after. He didn’t say why he could help them or why he was so reticent about going to him in the first place though.

 

“His name is Perry.” He simply stated becoming as uncomfortable as her but for whole other reasons.

 

“Okay that’s great, but WHO is he. I mean how can he help us?”

 

Nick sighed.

 

“You know when I said that I knew everyone? Well that’s because of him. The mammal is the kind of guy who has a lot of contacts and knows everybody that works in discutable businesses. We were partner once and that’s how I got to know the shadier characters. He’s the one who introduced me to Mr.Big when I wanted to move up the ladder.”

 

“You were partners… Hustle partners?” She asked finally looking at him.

 

“Sort of. The important is that if anyone knows how to contact the best hitmammals, it’s going to be him.”

 

“You’re telling me that this guys as contacts with assassins? Sounds like a lovely fellow.”

 

“He has contacts with every kind of criminals and he really isn’t.”

 

“So where do we find him?”

 

“I don’t know. But I do know where to start looking. A bar in the nocturnal district called the dancing vixen.”

 

Judy half glared, half cocked an eyebrow at him.

 

“Don’t look at me like that! The place is owned by a fox I know. Business meetings and transactions often go on there and he knows all his patrons and their story. Chances are he knows with whom perry has been dealing with recently.”

 

“You know Nick, you don’t need to use euphemism. You can tell me what goes on there you’re a cop now.”

 

“That would be kinda weird for me seeing that… I did business there.” He said while scratching the back of his neck.

 

“It’s alright. I’ll see it anyway when we go there.”

 

“We?”

 

“Well yeah! I’m your partner Nick. Where you’re going I’m going.”

 

“But it’s going to be dark and you don’t have night vision. And a bunny might attract attention. And…”

 

“Nick I’m coming with you there is nothing more to say about it!”

 

“Sigh. Fine but you’re going to need to change clothes.”

 

“What? Why?”

 

“We can’t really walk in there dressed up like cops.”

 

“But only Bogo can authorise an undercover operation.”

 

“Who said anything about an undercover operation? Might I remind you carrots that investigators aren’t obligated to wear their uniforms on duty.”

 

It was a weird little privileged investigators had that was often forgotten. The reason behind it was to supposedly put the people they asked questions to at ease. Apparently asking questions while wearing blue intimidated mammals.

 

“Sly fox.” She said smiling at him.

 

In return he gave her his best smile with that playfulness in his eyes and it took Judy every ounces of self control she had to not tear her clothes off and pounce on him. Instead she looked away with a deep blush and squeezed her legs together.

 

“Are they even opened at 8:00am?” She asked when she finally managed to regain her composure.

 

“A place like that in the nocturnal district? This is close to prime time for them.”

 

“Fine then. Let’s go right now.”

 

They did just that. They first stopped at the apartment to change in civilian clothes. Since this wasn’t an actual undercover operation they still had to use a regular police cruiser but that could be dealt with.

 

Judy was changing in the bedroom. She pulled her uniform’s pants down to find the carrot printed panties she was wearing were soaked.

 

“Great.”

 

She pulled them down and stepped out of them. The feeling of the cold air on her heated core was wonderful and without thinking one of her paw slided down to caress her flesh. With a shudder she realised what she was doing and pulled away. As she put her clothes on she hoped the effect of the heat would lessened quickly because she didn’t know how many days she could last like this.

 

The nocturnal district could be accessed by many tunnels throughout the city. Right now they were driving to the closest one to the apartment. Nick was the one behind the wheel since Judy couldn’t drive in the darkness without the headlights on which would be a death wish at best in the nocturnal district.

 

The fact that the car acted like a hot box didn’t help either of them. The fact that the AC was broken was also a bonus. And the fact that Judy was seated so close to Nick… That was simply too much…

 

She had been restlessly wiggling in her seat in a desperate attempt to find a comfortable position. sometimes, her movements would cause the fabric of her trousers to rub against her needy flesh. Without realising it, she would then tend to repeat the movement back and forth until her breath hitched and she realised what she was doing. She would stop, give a glance at Nick to make sure he didn't notice and do the whole thing again involuntarily. Never had a car ride seemed to be so long to her.

 

On his side, Nick kept looking foward like if he had been frozen. He tried his best to do as if he didn’t see Judy mindlessly humping her seat. As if he couldn’t smell her arousal. As if it didn't affect him when the truth was he had never been so turned on in his life.

 

“It’s hot in here without the AC hey!” He said while tugging at his collar.

 

“Hun he y-yeah.” She answered looking at him.

 

Unable to keep her eyes on his own green ones, her gaze lowered until it finally rested on his lap. Her eyes grew as she could clearly make out the outline of his engorged member underneath his pants.

 

**~Oh God it’s so…**

 

The sight of it made Judy blush and look away. Her scent intensified at that moment, enough for Nick to notice it and make him twitch. Even without a sense of smell as acute as Nick’s, she knew she must have reeked hormones.

 

Looking out the window, Judy saw a small convenience store coming up.

 

“Hey Nick could you pull over I need to go to the bathroom.”

 

She barely waited for the car to stop before she jumped out and headed into the store. She looked around until she found a bottle of  _ heatoff _ . The spray was made to mask the scent of mammals in heat. Until now she never had to use any due to her strong medication, but some of her siblings did during their puberty.

 

She bought a can and went to the bathroom where she used almost half of it on herself. When she returned to the car with the can in a plastic bag, Nick gave her a quizzical look.

 

“You bought something?”

 

“Aren’t you supposed to when you use the bathroom?”

 

“So what did you buy?”

 

Nick didn’t need to ask. He noticed straight away that she didn’t smell as much anymore. He would have lied if he said he wasn't disappointed. The car still acted as a hot box though.

 

“Nothing.” She said quickly before she noticed the paradox. “Nothing important. Just some carrot based snacks you know.”

 

The rest of the drive was spent in silence. The spray only hid the smell it didn’t alleviate Judy’s need to pounce her partner and to fuck his brain out.

 

The nocturnal district was a large network of caves and tunnels that ran underneath the city. As the name implied, it’s inhabitants were nocturnal animals that chose not to or simply could not adapt to the schedules of the day living majority. A majority, like Nick, still chose to deal with the light to have access to better services and wider markets. But some species like mauls or bats didn’t even have that option.

 

The nature of the nocturnal district made it difficult for public services to efficiently reach these parts. Because of that the nocturnal district had become a popular spot for drug deals and other illegal transactions.

 

Judy had never been into that part of town so when they entered the tunnel, she was surprised that she could still see. It was logical since night vision still required some lights and only few of the mammals on the force had it. In the case the ZPD did require to go down here, they needed to be able to see. So they placed was clear like on a full moon night. The sight was quite impressive to Judy. Most off the lights came from fluorescent vegetation that grew on the walls of the large cavernous area. It emitted a low neon light blue color which painted everything around it with the color.

 

Nick parked the car a few streets away from the club to make sure no one would know they were cops. It was clear enough for Judy to see where she was walking but she kept close to Nick nonetheless.

 

On their way to the club they passed several females in rather skimpy clothes hanging out by the side walk.

 

“Nick, are those prostitutes?”

 

“It generally depends who’s asking really. But yes carrots… They are.”

 

The club was a dirty looking building built from the cavern’s wall itself. Neon lights hummed in greeting as they approached the entry that was guarded by a bouncer. Seeing Nick coming, the mammal grinned knowingly as he stepped aside to let him pass. When Judy tried to follow him the bobcat stepped in front of her.

 

“Sorry bunny but the club is full.”

 

“It’s alright bob she’s with me.” Called Nick.

 

The bouncer looked back and forth between them before stepping away.

 

“Sorry mam’ I didn’t know.”

 

Judy ran to reach Nick’s side.

 

“So you came here often?”

 

“Well I wouldn’t say often but…”

 

“But often enough to call the bouncer by his first name.” She completed for him.

 

“Yeah.”

 

The music in the club was loud but not too loud to maintain a conversation privately. The carpet was old and sticky, the ambient light moody. Scattered around the place were dance poles on top of tables. Mammals were seated around watching the female dancers sometimes in bikinis and sometimes not…

 

“Wait this is a strip club!?”

 

Most of the dancers were either felines or canines, species that were more… Curvy.

 

“Is this why you didn’t want me to come?”

 

“In part…” He said timidly.

 

“In part! What’s the other part then?”

 

“Hey Nicky!” A female voice interrupted them.

 

A barely clothed vixen came behind Nick and wrapped her arms around him.

 

“It’s been a long time since you last came.” She said sultrily in his ear. “Why don’t you come in the back so we can make up for the lost time… Show me that ‘Wilde’ side of yours.”

 

Nick, for his part, stood straight like a pylon. His eyes were wide with surprise and dread and the skin underneath his fur had turned pale.

 

“Hey C-C-Casendra!” He said while extracting himself from the vixen’s grip. “Not today okay?”

 

“Hmm too bad. You always were the best. You know where to find me if you change your mind handsome.” She pulled away from him letting her paw trail sensually on the side of his muzzle.

 

Judy’s foot was furiously thumping on the ground as she glared at Nick with murderous eyes. The itch from before was now accompanied by a pang of jealousy.

 

“Nick, please don’t tell me it also doubles as a brothel!”

 

“What? No! It’s just that the girls are… Enthusiastic. They chose who they want to sleep with.”

 

“But they’re encouraged to do so right? And people pay them after it don’t they?”

 

“Well I wouldn’t know if they’re encouraged… And it might be custom to give a token of appreciation but…”

 

“But this is enough for vice to come and raid this place.” She cut him. “Damn it Nick, you could be fired, maybe even arrested for coming here.”

 

“I swear I never came here since we met. Not even during the three months after the press conference.”

 

Judy looked at him up and down curiously.

 

“Why not?” She asked on a softer tone.

 

“Because you made me a better mammal…”

 

Nick gently smiled at her and she forgot why she was even mad at him in the first place. That and she felt the heat come back with a vengeance.

 

“Awww Nick.” She said genuinely touched.

 

“This might not be the best place for an emotional moment carrots.”

 

“Gee! Thanks for reminding me you Brought me to your favorite strip club slash not technically brothel.”

 

“Hey look! It’s Alfred behind the bar. You know, the guy we’re looking for. Why don’t we go see him?” he said clumsily changing the discussion.

 

Judy rolled her eyes and followed him.

 

“Hey there Alfie!” Said Nick as he sat down on one of the stools.

 

The fox that faced the wall turned around and narrowed his eyes on Nick.

 

“Ya huv’ bloody guts tah’ c’mhere Nicky!” He said in an heavy scottish accent. “Wha’ ya think I dinnea’ ya b’came a boaby! Ya lucky I dan’t woop yer arse!”

 

Nick looked at him frozen while Judy still tried to understand what had been said. Then the fox behind the bar gave a loud and hearty laugh.

 

“I’m pissin’ wit ya laddie! Evy’one’s welcome here. So, ye havin a bevvy the nite?”

 

“No thanks. Actually we’re here because we want to know if…” Nick couldn’t finish before he was cut short.

 

“Speakin’ of we. Are ya gonna introduce me to the bonnie lass?” He said turning to Judy with a grin.

 

“Y-yeah… Uhm… She’s Judy, my partner and… And my friend.”

 

“Ay! Me hononr’ to meet ya lassie. M’name is Alfred.” Instead of shaking her extended paw, he took it and gently kissed the top of it making Judy blush and Nick fume.

 

“Okay that’s enough introduction.” He said quickly. “We need information. Do you know where is perry?”

 

“Maybe ado, maybe I deant’.”

 

Nick sighed and took a fifty dollar bill from his wallet then placed it onto the bar counter. The other fox looked down at it and back at Nick.

 

“I ain’t runnin’ charity here laddie.”

 

“What do you mean? It always costed fifty for info before.”

 

“These’re hard times. Ya lucky I deant charge extra for boaby cause ya a friend.”

 

“Yeah right.”

 

“Cummoan anno this important otherwise ya wouldn’t be here. Ya would be athe back with the gals.”

 

“I don’t do that anymore!” Nick answered quickly.

 

“That’s a sin.” Said Alfred while turning to Judy. “Ya knaw, yer friend was always one of the girls’s favorite…”

 

“Alf…”

 

“‘Ap’rently he’s ready to ‘try everything’ if a may say so…”

 

“Alf…”

 

“Certainly tried evyone, nat just the vixens. Even the tigresses for who he was a wee small said that he made up for size with technique.”

 

“OKAY THAT’S ENOUGH!” Nick interrupted while slapping another 50 dollar bill on the table.

 

“Well wasn’t too hard was it?” Said the fox while moving away from a blushing Judy.

 

Alfred’s story should have made her mad but it turned her on more than anything. It certainly didn’t help that the itch reacted to it also.

 

“And we wonder why foxes have a bad reputation. So, do you know where is perry?”

 

“Nah.”

 

“What! I thought you knew where he was.”

 

“I n’ver said that. But anno someone who does.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Well that’s entirely new info ya want isn’t it…”

 

“I swear Alfred if you try to scam me more I’ll get vice to make a raid on this place.”

 

“Okay, okay! Ya can’t blame a fox for tryin’.”

 

“Yes I can. Spit it up.”

 

“Awhite, one of the gals heard Ronal’ talkin’ t’other day. the fella was blootered oot his nut and kept braggin’ aboot how he was gettin’ pure minted sellin’ with perry. Tha’ was barely two days ago. Ron sure loves to hang oot on peak st dippin’ mammals fo’ the fun o’it. I bet ya, ya can fin’ him there and he’ll tell ya where he meets with perry.” He looked at the both of them with a grin. “So, was worth t’price was it nat?”

 

“Still a bit steep but thanks I guess. Come on carrots let's get out of here.”

 

“I’m still not sure I understood what he said…”

 

“In short. He uses the dancers to spy on drunk mammals with big mouth to either find business opportunities or sell information. The other day, a guy said he was working with Perry which means they must meet somewhere. We find the guy, who’s name is Ronald by the way, on peak st pickpocketing people and then we find Perry.”

 

“And he will tell us who the murderer is… Just like that?”

 

They walked past a couple of dancers who stopped their discussion and looked them over.

 

“See you soon Wilde. It’s been a long time.” One of them said with a wink in his direction and an overly playful giggle that made Judy furious. Once again she felt that burning sense of jealousy. There’s no way she would let any of them close to her fox…

 

Wait, since when was he her fox?

 

Nick accelerated his paste and pressed Judy to go faster as he ignored the sultry calls of the dancers.

 

“He’ll probably want something in return but he’ll cooperate.” He said as if nothing happened.

 

“More money?”

 

“I doubt it, the mammal is already rich. It’s probably going to be worst than that and quite the high price… But we don’t have much choice.”

 

“And what if he doesn’t know about the killer?”

 

“If the killer is a professional assassin like we think, he is bound to know about him. I can’t say how much he will know, but he will know something.”

 

They stepped into the police cruiser and put their seatbelts on.

 

“Well let’s pay this Ronald a visit shall we.” Judy asked.

 

“It’s too late. By the time we get there, prime time for pickpocketing will be over. He’s likely to be gone then.”

 

“How do you know prime pickpocket time?”

 

“Tha… That’s a good thing to know for a cop no?” Nick stalled.

 

“But how do you know it?”

 

“Observation…”

 

Judy gave him a playful smirk along with a “hmm”.

 

Nick drove the car to the precinct. They then filled in paperwork and clocked out.

 

The bus on the ride back home was filled with mammals. This meant that they ended up pressed against each other, squished between a hippo and a rhino who apparently had no consideration for smaller mammals. 

 

“Cozzy hey carrots.” Nick said as he looked down on the bunny whose frame was pressed onto his own.

 

Judy Didn't answer. She hadn’t been pressed against Nick like this since the vines in the rainforest district had tied them together…

 

Well that and the night they drank too much but they didn’t talk about that…

 

The point was that she was in the biggest heat of her life and her whole needy body was pressed against the object of her fantasies. It had been easier to ignore her urges when she had a case to focus on but right now she didn't. The reason she didn’t hear Nick was because she was too busy trying to concentrate on something other than all the things she wanted to do with him, to him…

 

“Carrots?”

 

This time she heard him and raised her head.

 

“Come on carrots, if nobody at least acknowledges my joke then what’s the point of them?”

 

“Sorry slick. I was just thinking…”

 

**~About how I would love to ride you till you pass out.**

 

**~No! Focus Judy!**

 

“Well you can do that later because our stop is coming and we still have to get out of… this.” He said with a gesture of his paws.

 

They got off the bus and started walking towards the apartment. Judy had returned to the realm of thoughts as she walked not giving attention to the outside world.

 

Therefore she never saw the puddle of dirty water next to her, nor did she see the truck barrelling down the road towards them.

 

Nick did see those two things however and he also saw that she hadn’t noticed yet.

 

“Judy watchout!” He said while running towards her to get her out of the way or at least cover her. 

 

He didn’t make it in time though and the resulting splash of water hit the both of them instead of just her. Since they were relatively small mammals, the splash was strong enough to knock them down.

 

“What the hell!?” Asked Judy as she tried to understand what had happened. Good thing was that she had no problems to think about something else than Nick.

 

“Come on carrots. Let’s go back to the apart, we’ll get changed there.”

 

Judy looked up to see Nick in damped and dirty uniform, with his fur soaked and matted by the water, stretching his paw out to her with a smile. She took it and he helped her up, bringing her closer to his chest in the process.

 

So much for thinking about something else.

 

She stepped away from him blushing knowing full well that he still looked at her with that smile. She loved his smile.

 

Thankfully the apartment wasn’t too far away from where they had been splashed. Nick closed the door behind Judy and threw his keys into the plate next to the door.

 

“Our uniforms are a mess.” She stated. “what are we supposed to do about tho…”

 

She stopped in her tracks when she spun around to find a bare chested Nick removing his uniform in front of her. He didn’t seem to notice her reaction as he kept removing article of clothing's without looking at her.

 

“I’m going to have them dry cleaned, it’s the only way to remove those stains. Meanwhile we can just use our spare uniforms.”

 

He was now fully unclothed save for his boxers. Judy was eyeing him up and down but mostly a bit below the middle, where fabric still stood. This time he noticed her pause and looked at her expectantly. When she saw he was looking back at her she immediately averted her gaze from his crotch to his eyes.

 

“Carrots?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I’m going to need you to remove your clothes now…” He said with a spinning movement of his paw as if it was the most natural thing to ask.

 

“W-Wha…?”

 

“I need your uniform to go to the dry cleaner. there’s one just down at the corner. I can go there and come back while you take your shower.”

 

“N-Nick I…”

 

Nick sighed.

 

“I won’t look if that’s what you want. Not that I haven’t seen you in your sports bra before.”

 

Nick was secretly disappointed. He had hoped to be able to catch a show secretly. Hey, it’s not every hustled that payed off. As he said, he had seen her training in her sports bra at the gym before so it’s not as if he really missed anything new.

 

“hum… O-Okay…”

 

Nick turned around and Judy began to undress herself. She never took once her gaze away from Nick, running down his muscular back to his boxers from which his tail popped out. The fact that she was undressing at the sight didn’t help her hormones to calm, so before she told him to turn back she made sure to hide herself behind the bathroom’s door for fear that Nick would notice her wetness otherwise.

 

Nick took the bunny’s clothes that laid on the ground while he heard the shower start. He looked at the closed door of the bathroom and sighed.

 

In the bathroom, Judy only had her panties and her bra on. The former was soaked with her liquids due to the day’s increasing arousal she had experienced. Just today she had gone through two pairs of underwear. She slowly removed the damp piece of cloth and set it outside on the tile floor.

 

Judy washed herself, spending extra time rubbing her fur with shampoo. Her paws caressed her body, removing the soap with the help of the water. She stopped when the time to wash her thighs came. What started as washing turned into a more… leisurely activity. She was already slightly panting when she heard the front door open.

 

It had to be Nick coming back. How long had she been in the shower taking care of her body?

 

With great frustration she stopped touching herself and turned off the water. She had meant to take a cold shower to calm herself but without realising at first she had started to turn up the heat in more than one way.

 

She wrapped herself in a towel and took her bra on the floor. However, she forgot the damp fabric that was hidden in one of the corners of the bathroom.

 

When she walked out of the bathroom she was faced with a fully clothed Nick this time. His fur was still dirty and roughed up but the clothes he wore were clean. He turned to her and smiled.

 

“Took your time in there carrots…” He said with his playful smirk.

 

“Sorry.” She quickly answered while looking away to hide her blush. Judy didn’t waste time before she she ran to the bedroom and locked the door behind her.

 

Nick sighed but let it go. She had been acting distant lately and she was beyond the point where he could do anything about it right now. He just hoped she would come back to being his lovable best friend.

 

Nick went into the bathroom to get a shower of his own. He didn’t notice the forgotten piece of clothing as he stripped down of his own garments. He didn’t waste time in the shower, washing his fur so it would regain its usual splendor. After he dried himself, Nick started to pick up his clothes. He reached out for one until he realised it wasn’t his.

 

He looked closer and recognised rabbit sized underwear. He flinched, quickly taking his arm away as if it had burned him. The panties were visibly wet and he doubted that was from the water they were splashed by. A strong, sweet smell irradiated from the small pink fabric. He looked around as if to make sure no one was watching and took the piece of cloth in his paw. He felt like a teenager who just broke into the girl’s dormitory with his friends… not that he ever did that.

 

Nick hesitantly brought it to his muzzle and took a quick sniff of it. What started as a quick sniff, became deep breaths as his eyes closed to fully appreciate the scent. The smell was all Judy. He could almost feel her presence and the arousal that caused the scent in the first place. It was intoxicating, hypnotising. It was like if he had his muzzle plunged into her very core. Nick grunted in appreciation. Maybe if he just licked it he would…

 

Nick’s eyes went wide and he threw the fabric away from him. What was he doing? Smelling her underwears and wanting to lick them as to taste her like a creep. He should have felt disgusted with himself, he did at some extent but he also was extremely aroused. His member stood hard and pride without pants to restrict it. He considered for a moment to take the panties back and give it another sniff but dismissed the idea as soon as it appeared. He instead chose to walk out and try to sleep in the hope he could just forget about all of this.

 

But forgetting was hard…

 

He tried to, really did, but his erection was a constant reminder preventing him to reach the comforting arms of sleep. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep unless he took care of it­. His first thought was to suck it up and let time and exhaustion take him away. However he knew that tomorrow was going to be a hard day, especially if they were going to talk with perry. Already not the morning mammal by nature, Nick knew that he had to get as much sleep as he could, even if that meant seeking release a few mere meters from Judy. He had to do it silently but he still had to do it.

 

Judy was laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She had decided that in her current predicament it would be best if she slept alone…

 

Of course that meant she still had to sleep.

 

The bed felt unreasonably empty. She turned from side to side trying to position herself in a comfortable way. It was useless and she knew it. She had grown too accustomed to fall asleep cuddling and now she couldn't go back. Her bunny plushies were no longer enough to satisfy her now that she had spent her night cuddling against him. She looked at the bedside clock. Nick should be sleeping right now.

 

She got up with a sigh and walked out of the bedroom. She made sure to make no sound as to not wake him up. Hopefully she would be able to control her urges while she slept with him on the couch.

 

Nick laid on the couch like every night and removed his boxers. His hardened shaft immediately stood to attention. With his right paw he grabbed the red flesh and started stroking it up and down. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could still smell the trace of Judy’s arousal…

 

Judy…

 

It didn’t take long before his imagination got to work. It was no longer himself that was stroking his shaft, but Judy jumping up and down on it, fitting perfectly around it defying the laws of biologie. The image contributed to his arousal. With his eyes still closed, he could see her muscular form on him, around him. She was jumping up and down, ears following the motion with a delay.

 

He could see her perfect small breast pointing outward, niples erect in the cold air. He could see the cream fur of her chest descend to her most private region which he was now exploring in his fantasie. Her muscular frame, her six pack, her soft fur all pointing at where the both of them met in passion. He could see her eyes, God her beautiful amethyst eyes. Those eyes were what excited him the most because they were filled with love, lust and passion.

 

Judy expected Nick to be sleeping like every night by now. She expected him to be unable to notice her presence when she would come to snuggle against him. Well one of those was still true she supposed.

 

When she arrived she didn't expect to find Nick masturbating with his eyes closed and yet he did. Considering he hadn’t stopped yet she assumed he was unaware of her presence. She should have stopped. She should have gone back to the bedroom and try to forget all about it. What she shouldn’t have done, is keeping watching him, getting turned on by him masturbating. The paw that had went to her mouth in shock shouldn’t have lowered slowly to caress her breast while the other lowered even more...

 

He now stroked himself harder, faster. In his mind her face was contorted in pleasure as she gasped for breath. He could imagine her calling out his name in between moans the pleasure overwhelming her. Of course in his imagination she was deeply in love with him. He imagined that every thrust he made sent as much spark of pleasure if not more in her than it did in him. He too was now panting, rubbing his member furiously. He felt his knot starting to swell and his muscle tensed. He was edging closer to release.

 

“Judy!” He rasped silently.

 

She was continuing to bounce up and down at a ridiculous rate, eyes rolled in. She needed him desperately and he needed her.

 

“God Judy yes!”

 

She was masturbating to the sight of her friend’s own masturbation and it didn’t bother her more than that. One of her paw had made it’s way into her pants and now rubbed her clit at unreasonable speed. Her back was pressed against the wall since she no longer trusted her legs to support her. The paw inside her was moving so fast it put vibrators to shame. The other paw that had been caressing her breast had moved back to her mouth to prevent her from screaming. A rabbit’s sense of smell was not nearly as acute as that of a fox but it still was enough to be able to smell Nick’s arousal mix with her’s. She was so wet she was sure there would be a stain forever marked in the wooden floor. In her fevered mind she could hear him call her name… Or wait was that real?

 

The very real smell of her arousal seemed to get even stronger, probably due to his heightened senses. His paw moved up and down as fast it possibly could. His knot and grown to it’s biggest size without finishing yet. He was so close. He took deeper breaths and… The smell, God he loved that smell God he loved her.

 

“Judy… Garh!... I love you.” He said in grited teeths.

 

That was enough. At that moment he felt his knot grow even bigger and he came inside of her, his hips thrusting up to meet her own as she finished at the same time… In his mind...

 

He was brought back from his fantasy as he felt his seed land on his chest, paw and other places instead of it finishing in her. He still waited before opening his eyes, catching his breath.

 

“I love you…” He whispered like a confirmation to himself.

 

He could have fallen asleep right then with the thought of the mammal he loved in his mind. Alas, he knew he had to clean the mess he had just made.

 

Judy had stopped. She thought she wouldn’t be able to stop until she hit orgasm, a thing she was very close to, but it had only required Nick to say those words to stop her death in her track.

 

He loved her…

 

He loved her?

 

She was still very much in need. seeing him finish was the hottest thing she had ever seen in her life. Her body was screaming at her to keep rubbing until shock waves teared her down but with the revelation she just heard she was unable to move. She managed to regain her mind just in time for her to flee into the bedroom before he opened his eyes.

 

She crashed onto the bed.

 

“He loves me…” She said in between heavy breaths.

 

The knowledge of it turned her even more on. She could no longer ignore the calls of her body and brought her paw back down while she closed her eyes. She no longer was gifted with the sight of Nick engaging in private business so instead she relied on her own imagination. She was already close to finishing from before when she started to imagine him arched over her. His big predator frame covering her as he thrusted deep inside her, reaching places that had never been reached before. The way his body was hunched over her allowed him to reach her mouth and kiss her passionately.

 

What she wouldn’t give right now to feel him kiss her for real. To feel his sharp teeths nibbling at her lower lip, to feel is claw tracing the outline of her body, to feel his cock inside of…

 

Her mind went to a blank as she was rocked by the most powerful orgasm of her life. A silent scream died in her throat as she came. It felt like an eternity before she was finally able to breath again.

 

Exhausted, she laid on the bed her eyes closed.

 

“I love you too Nick…” She breathed out. “I love you two…”

 

She fell asleep like that, loving and feeling loved. She knew that from now on she would only be able to sleep truly well feeling those things.

 

**…**

 

The ZPD officer was seated at his desk in his apartment. He had reported his finding to the high council and they had agreed that something had to be done. They had asked him to be the one who did the job.

 

He had never been good in chemistry when he was young so he was displeased to hear that he was the one to do it. He looked at the phial with the liquid he had synthesized following their instruction. He really only needed to mix two liquids together, the hard part of synthesis had been done in a lab by professionals but the two liquids were stable on their own. They needed to be mixed and that was his job.

 

He looked again at the container. He knew that if he dropped it his whole apartment complex would be gone in smoke…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… What did you think? It’s my first time writing this sort of thing so I would like to know your opinion on it. If you have anything to say that I could make better just let me know. Otherwise you know that liking/following the story is always appreciated.
> 
>  
> 
> Ps: Yes I do know it was not the full proper on smut some of you have been waiting for, but that’s coming soon don’t you worry. there is about 2-3 chapters left to act two and I promise you that they will be together at the end of it. See it this way, we first learned that Nick loved Judy, then that she loved him and now she knows that he loves her. The only thing missing is him knowing that she loves him.
> 
>  
> 
> Pps: Yes of course I named the platypus Perry.


	17. Where is Perry?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back guys and girls! I want to start off by answering to a few comments I had on the last chapter. I know it wasn’t full on proper smut but that scene existed in my mind a long time ago. I didn’t create it to justify the M rated upgrade, I was forced to up it to M because of that scene. I’m sorry I raised your expectation but I couldn’t leave the rating as it was and I didn’t want to warn you about the exact nature of the scene because that would have been a spoiler. In fact the only reason I warned you that it was coming was because I would have lost a lot of readers to the Fanfiction.net’s filter system if I didn’t.
> 
> In short, what I want to say is I’m sorry I raised your hopes but the scene gave birth to the rating and not the other way around.
> 
> Without further ado, here’s the new, more tame, chapter.

 

When Judy woke up she was still naked on the bed. A wet spot marked the sheets in between her legs. The memories of yesterday night flooded back into her mind as she sat up. Only one thing really stood out like a lighthouse though...

 

“He loves me…” She whispered.

 

It made her smile. Knowing this simple little fact made her incredibly happy. She had butterflies in her stomach and she kept grinning at the wall like an idiot. She knew she was reacting like a teenager but she didn’t care.

 

The itch was still there but it was considerably lessened. Right now she didn’t even pay attention to it. She let the overwhelming happiness sink into her fur while she played those words in loop in her head.

 

She got dressed in her pajamas and headed for the door. When she opened it she found Nick to be standing right on the other side with his paw reaching for where the door knob used to be.. He seemed surprised to find her there.

 

“Hey carrots I was actually going to wake you up. Anymore sleep and we might have been late.”

 

Judy looked at the clock. It displayed 06:13.

 

“I overslept?!”

 

“I know right! Looks like I’m rubbing off on you.” He marked his words by rubbing the top of her head. “Guess you had a good night sleep.” He said, a natural smirk on his lips.

 

Judy blushed. Saying last night was good was quite the understatement. She smiled in return and looked him back in the eyes with a smile of her own. It was a hard thing to do since every time she looked at him she had flashback of yesterday.

 

**~Just tell him already!**

 

“Nick?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I euh… I…”

 

**~It’s as simple as telling him you know and you share his feelings. There’s nothing to worry about.**

 

“I… I need to get prepared now or we’ll be late.”

 

**~Great work Judy! Great work!**

 

“Oh yeah of course sorry.”

 

Nick stepped aside to let Judy out and prepare.

 

“I’ve made breakfast for you.”

 

“Aww thanks.”

 

**~You have to tell him. You know how he feels so why be scared?**

 

**~Maybe I misheard him. Maybe I only heard what I wanted to hear.**

 

**~So I’m supposed to just do as if nothing happened? Again?**

 

**~No not this time! I’ll wait when the moment is right but I! Will! Tell him!... today.**

 

Judy got prepared as fast as she could, sprayin what  _ heatoff _ she had left, and they took the bus to the precinct. 

 

For a second day in a row they were greeted by Wolford and Clawhauser grinning at the both of them from the reception desk.

 

“Hey Judy come here.” Came the cheetah’s voice.

 

She told Nick she would join him in the investigation office before she made her way to the front desk.

 

“What is it Ben?” She asked cheerfully.

 

“Oh I just wanted to catch up with you know. We haven’t really had the chance to talk since you and Nick became detective.”

 

“Is that really why you asked me to come over? I like you ben you know that but I’m supposed to be working.”

 

“Wait, I won’t take much of your time I promise.”

 

He looked at her with sad eyes and a pleading face.

 

“Please…”

 

She rolled her eyes and sighed.

 

“Fine what do you want to talk about?”

 

“I’m just going to go to the bullpen since you guys are catching up.” Said Wolford. “See ya.”

 

Wolford passed beside Judy making sure to take a deep breath. She didn’t reek the arousal like she did yesterday but there was another scent present. It smelled more chemical and Wolford deduced it had to be scent mask. It did mean that she was still in heat though since she had bothered to put some on this morning.

 

Clawhauser leaned in closer to her, resting his flabby chin on his paws.

 

“Okay girl talk time.”

 

“Ben you’re not a girl.”

 

“Details sister, details. So are you dating anyone?”

 

“What? No why would you think that?”

 

“Oh I don’t know. But you would tell me if you did right?”

 

“Yeah sure…” She looked at him confused.

 

“Promise.”

 

“Listen Ben, I really got to go now. We’ll catch up later okay. Bye.” She didn’t leave him time to answer she was off to the investigation office.

 

Once she was gone, Wolford came out of the corner.

 

“Got anything?”

 

“No. Smelled anything.”

 

“She’s wearing scent blocker but she’s still in heat. Other than that, nothing.”

 

Judy entered the office and sat at her desk. They needn’t waste time on too much paper work that day and so they were quickly off to reach pike st.

 

Pike st was the circular road at the very center of the city. It’s position made it a very sought for emplacement for business office and expansive shops. Preyda and Bearbery shops occupied the first floors of large office complex, making the road the center of shopping for ludicrously wealthy mammals. Groomers prided themselves on being the ones who took care of this or this celebrity’s fur, charging astronomical amounts based on the sole fact. Of course most of the celebrities were actually contractually obligated to use those shops and do it in front of the paparazzis.

 

Nick had to admit that he was impressed that Ronald had the guts to pickpocket here. He knew the guy, the way he knew everyone, for a long time now and knew he was a great pickpocket. Still though the place was packed with tourists and buisnessmammals all watched over by police officers. That Ronald was able to pickpocket under the muzzle of everyone was impressive.

 

However, Nick and Judy had an advantage over their colleagues. They knew who to look for… Well at least Nick did.

 

Finding Ronald in the crowd was hard. Not only there were a lot of mammals but a great many of them were taller than them making it impossible to see very far. Nick recognized one of those bigger mammals, a female elephant in blue uniform.

 

“Hey is that francine?” He asked pointing to where the elephant stood.

 

Judy turned around to see what Nick was pointing at.

 

“Yeah, she must have been assigned at patrol here.”

 

They made their way to their colleagues who saw them coming.

 

“Hey what are you guys doing here?”

 

“We have a lead that should be hanging around here but we can’t see above the crowd.”

 

“No need to say more, I know where this is going.” She lowered her trunk to the ground in front of them. “Hop on.”

 

“So you’re just going to let us sit on it…” Said Nick. “Isn’t that supposed to be like… Weird or something?”

 

“It’s only weird if you make it. Now come on I don’t have all day.”

 

They both sat on on her trunk as if it was a log. She then lifted them in the air allowing them to see above the other mammals.

 

“Just don’t wag your tails too much or you might make me sneeze and believe me you don’t want that right now.”

 

“There’s quite a lot of people so it might take some time to…”

 

“Found him!” Cut Nick.

 

“What?”

 

“If you want  to find a pickpocket carrots you have to think like a pickpocket.”

 

“Well you sure got into character quickly.” She teased him.

 

“Take us down Francine we got him.”

 

As soon as they touched the ground, Nick took off in the direction he had seen Ronald in. Judy followed him through the maze of mammals to where he had seen their suspect. When they got here, Nick looked around. Ronald had obviously moved while they got there.

 

Nick looked around once again before pointing at a hooded figure of about his size that was entering an alley.

 

“It’s him.”

 

They walked rapidly towards the figure as to catch up on him. However, the hooded mammal noticed the two cops following him and started to run. Immediately they caught up the chase and started sprinting themselves.

 

“ZPD stop where you are!”

 

Instead of stopping, the mammal only ran faster into the alley.

 

Judy was the fastest of the two so she was the one to catch up to the perp first. When she was in reach, she jumped up and pushed the perp with her hind legs. She landed with a backward roll while the suspect fell face first with his hood coming off. Judy could now see that this Ronald was another fox. While not exactly like Nick, he shared enough resemblance for Judy to assume it was another species of fox.

 

She didn’t waste time to jump back at him and pinned him to the ground while she cuffed him.

 

“Well well well look who it is.” Said Nick coming up behind Judy.

 

Hearing his voice, Ronald turned around confused.

 

“Nick? You’re with the blues now?”

 

“Yeah. And you’re still pickpocketing.”

 

“Don’t know what you mean. I didn’t steal anything.”

 

“Yeah, and what's this?” Nick reached into Ronald’s pocket taking out a wallet.

 

“Hey that’s mine! You can’t just take an other mammals wallet like that!”

 

“Oh I’m sorry Ron. I didn’t know you had your name changed to samantha.” Nick said as he took out a driver’s license from the wallet. “And that you became a fifty year old female antelope.”

 

“Come on man! That’s my friend’s wallet, she forgot it at my place it’s all.”

 

“Yeah right. So here’s how things are going to work. We can take you in for pickpocketing OR we can let you go minus all the things you’ve stolen if you tell us where to find Perry.”

 

Ronald’s eyes widened at the mention of the platypus’s name. Nick gave him a: “Yeah we know.” look when he saw his expression change.

 

“Fuck that man. I’ll have way less shit if you take me in for pickpocketing than for selling with him.”

 

Judy frowned. Con artist usually had it as bad if not less than pickpockets, especially if the con was well planned out as Nick’s, treading the line of legality.

 

“It’s not like that. We’re not after him for that, we just need information about someone and Perry is the mammal for it. I promise you that we won’t go after either of you.”

 

Ronald looked perplexed. Judy could see he was weighing his options and decided to give him a little push.

 

“If you’re a good fox we’ll let you go…”

 

“Oh no you didn’t…” Said Nick while pinching his muzzle.

 

“WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?”

 

“What… I… I don’t understand.”

 

“He’s not a fox carrots.”

 

“I’M A BLOODY RED PANDA YOU BIGOT!”

 

Judy’s eyes widened in realisation.

 

“I am so sorry, I… I thought that…”

 

“Na you didn’t think anything bunny! It’s always the same with you prey animals. All predators are the same, dangerous criminals. You can’t even bother to differentiate specie.”

 

“Okay that’s enough.” Interrupted Nick. “I see you trying to divert the discussion but it’s not going to work. You have the choice, either you tell us where is Perry and we let you go or you come with us to the precinct.”

 

Ronald looked between the two of them.

 

“How do I know you ain’t gonna bust me and Perry?”

 

“You have my word for it.”

 

“Ah! A fox’s word, what is it worth?”

 

Judy chose to not underline the hypocrisy of saying that all prey mammals generalised predators while also generalising foxes.

 

“You know what happened on Pack Street two years ago?”

 

Ronald’s eyes widened.

 

“Yeah I know about it and I haven’t told anyone. How’s that for a show of trust?”

 

“Sigh. Fine. We usually meet at midday on the corner of Boarbon st and the second avenue. Can I go now?”

 

“Here’s what’s going to happen Ron. You're going to give us all the stuff you stole and then you’ll head out. Meanwhile, we’re going to take your place at the meeting with Perry. You understand what I said?”

 

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

“Good.”

 

Nick made a sign to Judy who then uncuffed the red panda. He then emptied his pockets in front of the two officers and got out.

 

“We’ll give this to Francine and then we can go find Perry.” Said Nick.

 

They gave the stolen goods to Francine and then got into the cruiser. Judy was the one driving like most times and she was having trouble keeping her eyes on the road and not on the fox next to her. The heat was nowhere near as bad as the day before but it was still there.

 

**~Now would be a good time to tell him Judy.**

 

**~Tell him what? That you heard him say “I love you” because you watched him masturbate?**

 

**~Okay there might be a better way to say it.**

 

**~How about… No, no that’s just weird.**

 

**~Okay just tell him and be over with it!**

 

“Nick?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I… eh… I was wondering… Well I was wondering what happened on Pack st… you know like you said…”

 

**~Judy you are pathetic!**

 

Nick smirked and turned to face her. His smile made her melt in her seat.

 

“I just convinced the guy to talk to us by saying I didn’t tell anyone what happened back then. It would just be wrong to go ahead and tell you about it right after. Sorry fluff but don’t worry it’s nothing you should be concerned about.”

 

“Y-yeah… okay, you’re right.”

 

Judy spent the rest of the time driving between eyeing her partner and finding a good way to tell him she loves him. It’s not that she was scared to do it, it’s just that she didn’t know how… Right? Soon enough they reached their destination and Judy still was no further to telling him. She had promised herself to tell him today though and by God she would or her name wasn’t Judy Hopps.

 

They arrived at the meeting point 15 minutes after noon. They could see a platypus waiting impatiently at the corner of the street. They parked the car further along the road and went to join the small mammal. It was always refreshing for Judy to find someone who was her size if a little bit larger.

 

The platypus who was smoking at the moment saw the two cops coming towards him. Judy would have thought that his first reaction would be to get away but she was surprised to see instead an amused smile form on the mammal’s flat snout. He dropped the cigarette which he then squished under his palmed feets and turned to the oncoming officers.

 

“Nick! How is it going? It’s been a long time.”

 

“Perry.” Nick greeted in between gritted teeths.

 

“I see you went straight. That’s a good thing, I hope life's treating you fairly.”

 

Nick grumbled something in response, obviously annoyed by the platypus.

 

“And you must be Judy Hopps.” Said Perry, extending a paw to her. “I must say what you did for the city during the night howler crisis was admirable. I heard a fox had helped you out but I had no idea it was my old buddy Nick.”

 

“We’re not buddies.” interrupted Nick.

 

Perry simply ignored his comment and shook Judy’s paw. Judy shook it back awkwardly since she had never actually seen a palmed mammal before, she wasn’t even sure there was other palmed mammals than platypuses.

 

“Thank You.” She said.

 

“You know what? Why don’t we catch up on the lost time around a drink? I know a nice restaurant not far from here. The owner knows me, we’re sure to have a good place.”

 

At first Nick was going to oppose to the idea but he realised that if they were to talk with him better it be in privacy than on the corner of two busy streets. They followed the platypus to a very fancy looking establishment. Judy recognised the place as one of the more fancy and expensive restaurant in Zootopia. Even the cheapest stuff in there would cost about two weeks salary.

 

Being the midday rush, the establishment seemed to be completely full from the street. Judy could see an array of well dressed mammals, some wearing the most lavish dress she had ever seen. Surely Perry had to be mistaking. None of them were dressed well enough to even enter, what with their police uniforms and his jeans and button up shirt.

 

Yet Perry entered the building, bypassing a line of waiting wealthy mammals who gave them offended glares. The platypus halted in front of the  _ maître d'hôtel _ , an impeccably dressed alpine goat. He gave them an inquisitive look before seemingly recognising Perry.

 

“Monsieur Perry. It is very good to see you sir.” He said in a french accent.

 

Judy could see that the smile of the  _ maitre D _ was forced. The mammal seemed in fact very nervous and even somewhat scared.

 

“It’s good to see you too Pierre. How is the misses and the kids?”

 

Pierre, as was his name, seemed to become even more tensed at the mention of his family.

 

“Very good sir, merci. I assume you want a table for you and your friends oui?”

 

“Yes. If you could make sure we have a window please. Oh and if it could be private also. I hate when people eavesdrop.”

 

“Biens sure, of course monsieur. Nothing but the best for you. If you would please follow me.”

 

They followed the  _ maitre D _ to a corner of the restaurant which had a view on the busy street. The corner was slightly elevated higher than the rest of the dining floor and seemed to be a vip area. The goat guided them to the corner table, the only empty one, which wore a “reserved” sign. The still nervous mammal seated them and handed wine cards, then took off to the kitchen with the sign.

 

“Drink is on me.” Said Perry while looking at the card. “Mmmmh let’s see. A good red would be nice, I’ve never been a fan of white to be honest.”

 

Nick was still looking at the platypus seated in front of them with narrowed eyes. He obviously disliked the mammal, even told her so before but she could not understand why. All she had seen of him indicated that he was nice. The staff did seem to be scared of him however and she doubted it was for no reason.

 

Judy looked around. The almost full restaurant was filled with the music of a small orchestra of rodents that were staged on a table. Their music was amplified by speakers throughout the building. Fancy people were chatting about, giving no attention to the group who obviously stood out. Judy used her acute hearing to focus on mammal’s conversation. She first lend an ear to the  _ maître d'hôtel _ who was speaking to upset patrons.

 

“I am very sorry Madame, but we had to give your reservation to someone else. We can give you a priority reservation at a later date however if you so desire.”

 

“I don’t want a later date I want it now! We reserved four months in advance and you just gave it away!”

 

“My sincerest apologies madame but…”

 

Judy turned her attention to a voice that came from the kitchen.

 

“ _ Perry est ici alors je veux que tout le monde soit à son meilleur. Laisser une cuisinière vide, je veux qu’on soit prêt à cuir son mêt en priorité si jamais il décide de commander quelque chose à manger. Toi là. Va servir sa table tout de suite. _ ”

 

“ _ Mais j’étais en train de servir une autre table. _ ”

 

“ _ Je m’en fous. Si Perry n’est pas satisfait on pourrait perdre tout le restaurent, ou pire encore. _ ”

 

Judy stopped listening since she didn’t know french anyway. She instead turned her attention back to the mammal who was seated in front of her.

 

At that moment a waiter came out of the kitchen and went straight to their table.

 

“Would messieurs et madame like to take a look at the menu?”

 

“No thank you.” Said Perry “We’re just here for a drink.” He closed the wine card and looked at the waiter with a smile. “We’ll take a  _ Jean-Louis Chave Cuvée Cathelin Hermitage _ thank you.”

 

“The bottle will be on the house as always monsieur.”

 

“Not this time.” Interrupted Perry. “My hospitality to my friends here would be meaningless if I didn’t pay for the bottle after all.”

 

Judy looked at the card in front of her and almost fainted when she saw that the bottle costed 2,550 zoobucks. Nick did say that Perry wouldn’t be interested by money since he had already enough, but it did beg the question of why would he still be hustling with that much money?

 

“Very well monsieur I shall bring the bottle straight away.”

 

Once the waiter departed, Perry turned to the officers in front of him.

 

“It’s not the best wine out there, but it’s the best a small place like this can do.”

 

The waiter came back with a bottle and presented it to Perry. Who graciously accepted it. The waiter made a move to serve Nick and Judy but they both refused.

 

“No thank you. We’re on duty.”

 

“What a shame. It’s not everyday that you get to taste good wine. You’re sure you won’t even take a sip?”

 

“No really we’re fine.”

 

“Very well then.” Perry made a sign to the waiter who then took off leaving the bottle on the table.

 

“So tell me.” Said perry while swerving the wine. “What brings you to me today?”

 

“We have questions about platypuses.” Stated Nick carefully.

 

He had decided it would be best to start off with small unimportant questions and progressively ask the more important ones. It was an old hustling technique to get people talking that even the ZPD used in interrogations.

 

“You could have searched on the internet but very well go ahead.”

 

“Can you tell us about platypus venom?”

 

“I can tell you a lot of things about it. Care to know something more specific?”

 

“Not really. You could just make us a presentation.”

 

“If you wish.”

 

Perry put a foot on the table with a loud thud. Other patrons looked their way, most seeming very displeased at seeing a mammals put its feet on the table in such a place. The staff did not make a move to stop him however nor did Perry give any attention to the mammals who were glaring at him.

 

“You see this.” He pointed to a small claw like hook at the back of his ankle. “This is called the calcaneus spur. While both females and males have them, only the males produce venom. That’s pretty much all I can remember from my biology class.”

 

Perry removed his feet from the table and took a sip from his glass.

 

“The venom is potent enough to kill small mammals like us with one dose but it won’t have lasting harmful effect on bigger mammals. However, they say the pain is so excruciating, that it paralyses the limb it was introduced to. I even heard that a war veteran lion got it by a platypus and described the pain as worse than being hit by shrapnels.” Perry smiled when he finished his sentence and it made a shiver run down Judy’s back.

 

“Most platypus get the spur removed because it’s easier to live in society when you don’t have a poisonous dagger attached to your body. I personally kept it because it can come useful in my line of work. Anything more you want to know?” Asked Perry with an unsettling smile.

 

Nick nodded. Now was the time to up the antics.

 

“We’re actually looking for another platypus…” Nick let the sentence hanging.

 

Perry leaned back in its chair and made the wine swirl again. He looked pretty pensive.

 

“You think I know every platypuses in zootopia?” He finally said not bothering to look at them.

 

“No but this one is working in the shadier side of the city.”

 

Perry smiled and looked at them.

 

“Of course he his.”

 

“What does that mean?” Asked Judy.

 

“Well you wouldn’t have come to me in police uniform if you weren’t looking for someone like that.” He paused and took another sip before continuing. “There isn’t many platypuses out there you know.”

 

“So you do know him.” Said Judy while trying to hide her excitation at having a concrete lead.

 

“Of course, I know everyone. Tell me what are you after him for?”

 

“He killed people.” Said Nick. “Friends in fact.”

 

“I’m sorry to hear that. Yes I do know the mammal you’re looking for.”

 

“And what is it going to take to make you talk?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

Nick was taken aback by what Perry said. The mammal was not the kind to give and expect nothing in return.

 

“So you’re just going to give it to us like that?”

 

“Well I might ask of a little favor later in the future now that you’re part of the ZPD but…”

 

“Perry, I’m not going to spy on the force for you.”

 

“No no no no, of course not. That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m talking along the line of removing a parking ticket or letting me go if you ever catch me for speeding. Nothing more.”

 

“I don’t believe you. You don’t care for things as small as that.”

 

“I promise I will never ask you more than those two things from you.”

 

Nick looked at him in disbelief. He didn’t know what Perry was planning but he didn’t like it. On the other paw, they didn’t really have any other choice.

 

“Fine.”

 

“Good. So the mammal you’re looking for as been in the business of assassinations for almost ten years now. To be honest he’s the best hit-mammal money can get you but his services are also extremely expensive if I may say so myself. He’s the kind of mammal who likes to be secretive so seeking his services is a long elaborate process which you can be sure will never achieve anything if you are police. I never hired him, so I don’t know who he is or what he looks like but I do know that those who did use his services know and I also happen to know one mammal who did.”

 

“Who?” Asked Judy.

 

Perry smiled at them.

 

“Mr.Big.”

 

Nick and Judy looked at eachother knowingly.

 

“I don’t know how you’ll do it…” Continued Perry. “But if you can convince him to help you, he would be able to tell you who he is.”

 

“We’ll find a way.” Said Judy while getting up. “Thank you for the information.”

 

Perry looked at the both of them confused. He watched them get their things and leave before he called them.

 

“Officer Hopps.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Did Nick ever tell you how we know each other?”

 

“Perry!” Hissed Nick.

 

“You were hustle partners right?”

 

This seemed to make Perry laugh.

 

“I guess we were sort of.”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“That’s for Nick to answer not me.”

 

Judy turned to Nick and looked at him with a worried and inquisitive look.

 

“Come one carrots we need to go.”

 

Nick and Judy were walking to the police cruiser so they could head out to the Big’s mansion.

 

“Well he wasn’t that bad.” Said Judy.

 

“Don’t let him fool you carrots. Perry is the most deceitful mammal that I ever met. however I must agree that he was surprisingly friendly this time.”

 

**…**

 

“FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK  **FUCK!!!** ”

 

Perry punctuated every word by smashing his fist on the restaurant’s table.

 

Nick and Judy had gone a few minutes ago to talk to Mr.Big which left him alone at the table to finish the wine. The other patrons looked at him obviously displeased by his outburst.

 

He was extremely mad. How could he have not known about this? It was his job to know about those things so how come an information as crucial as this didn’t reach him?

 

“WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?” He screamed to his newfound audience.

 

Most looked away after this but a few held their indignant glares. A female bear made a sign to the waiter, probably asking what they were waiting for to get this annoying platypus out of their establishment. Perry was pleased to see the waiter give the female his apologies and explaining her that they couldn’t do anything.

 

Another waiter approached his table. The poor soul had probably drawn the short straw and had been designated to try to calm him.

 

“Is everything alright monsieur?”

 

“Does it look like everything is alright? You know what, don’t answer that you’re opinion is pointless. Now if you’ll excuse me I have stuff to do.” He said while rising from his seat.

 

“Heu, pardon me sir but you did say you would pay for the bottle.”

 

“I’ve changed my mind, I don’t have time for this.”

 

And so Perry walked out of the fancy establishment under the glares of many a mammals. He didn’t pay any attention to it though, he had important stuff to take care of.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life was cool for once and allowed me to update the story more quickly this time. However, the next chapters won’t come so fast. I repeat:
> 
> THERE WILL BE A LONG TIME BEFORE THE NEXT UPDATE!
> 
> How long you ask? Here’s the thing, I’m not sure. There’s not much left to act 2 and I want to finish it off with an extra long chapter like I did with act 1. Problem is, I’m looking at what I want to put in it and it might still be too much. So I might divide the chapter in two but if that’s the case, I don’t want them to be released to long apart. So if I do that, I’ll hold the first chapter hostage while I get far enough into the second one. That combined with the fact that there’s a couple of things coming along in my personal life will mean that it’s going to take me more time. Last chapter took some time to write because I was caught unprepared but this time I’m warning you. My best guess is that it will take somewhere between 2 and 3 weeks before the next update but don’t take my word on it.
> 
> In the meanwhile you can comment, favorite/kudo and follow. All those things make me write faster it has been scientifically proven.


	18. The perfect storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Long time no see, right? I have been EXTREMELY busy these past few weeks and have had a hard time finding the occasion to write. To reward you for your patience, I would like to present you the first of the two chapters that compose the final of act 2. This means that this chapter is especially long and important story wise like ch6 was at the end of act 1. Not only that, but there should be a second chapter that closes the act following shortly after since putting everything into one chapter would have been ludicrous.
> 
> Moreover, for those who were disappointed with the "smut" of chapter 16, I am pleased to announce that there is actual, proper, full-on smut in this one. For those who would not wish to see the smut however, I have marked the beginning and ending of the passage with: =+=+=+=+=+=+=+= so you can just skip it and will still be able to read the rest of the story without missing anything too important. Every time there will be smut or explicit content in future chapters, I will use the same notation to warn you. And don't worry, this story isn't turning into porn or anything. It will be a few chapters until we see them do the bunny dance again…
> 
> If that was not enough, I am proud to inform you that I have now a beta reader! I want you all to give a warm welcome (at least in your head if you don't feel like writing a comment) to Archangel2462. He will proof read my stories from now on so you should see a decrease in grammar mistakes and plot holes. Another way to thank him would be to go visit his fanfiction.net account and read his story. He has recently started to write a zootopia zombie (or is it zoombies) story so go check it out if you’re into that.
> 
> There is mention to drug use and suicide in this chapter so if this triggers you… Well, I can't do anything about it, but you have been warned.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, or anything else Zootopia-related, it all belongs to Disney Studios, blah blah blah. (was about time I started to pop out these disclaimers no?)
> 
> And now for your enjoyment, the promised chapter…

 

 

_Hey Fru-Fru, are you there_ _?_

 

_Hey Judy! How is it going?_

_Listen is it ok if me and Nick come by?_

_We want to talk to your father_

_If it's not about his business_

_he'd love to see you two!_

_Cool we're on our way right now_

_Tell your dad to hide anything illegal_

_we're on duty._

_Also, say hi to little Judy plz_

_She says she can't wait to see_

_her favorite Godmother_

 

_I'm her only Godmother_

_Isn't she cute? :)_

Judy chuckled in the passenger seat. She had to text Fru Fru that they were coming so Nick had taken the wheel.

Judy and Fru-Fru had kept in contact after the Night Howler case. The ZPD wasn't overly happy of her connection to a known crime boss but they had allowed it nonetheless. It still meant that she couldn't visit little Judy as much has she had wished though.

The Big family lived in a remote part of tundra Town. They owned a large land which allowed them to prevent nosy neighbors stumbling on their business activities. It did mean however that the drive to get there was long.

Nick looked over at Judy smiling after another text of Fru-Fru had sent her into a giggling fit. Judy met him with a smile of her own. They both looked away blushing, and Judy's smile turned into a frown as the words of the platypus came back to her mind.

"Nick?" She said in an all too serious tone.

"Yes, Carrots?"

"What did you and Perry do together?"

Judy was looking up at him, but Nick kept his eyes on the road. After a moment, she thought he simply wouldn't answer before he spoke.

"Don't let him get to you, Fluff. The guy was only screwing with your mind."

"Nick, you know you can tell me. There's nothing you can say that's going to make me run away. I know the things you did back then were done because you had no choice. I know the real Nick, and he's seated next to me."

She placed a paw on his arm like she had done that night in the rain forest district only this time he didn't flinch away.

"Open up to me Nick please."

Nick let out a big sigh. "I… At one point money was tight and…"

Nick closed his eyes and sighed again.

"Perry is a drug dealer fluff."

The news surprised her but she didn't remove her paw from his arm. A thing which seemed to make him happy.

"That means that you…"

"Yes, I sold drugs Carrots. Used them even at one point. Those were the shitiest years of my life. I woke up every day to work with that monster… If you knew the shit I've seen him do…"

Nick was looking far into the horizon in front of them. He seemed to get lost in it before he continued.

"The only reason I kept working with him was because it was the only way I could get enough money to feed my addiction. He knew that, of course he did." Nick's eyes were now glassy and his voice faltered. "When we didn't sell enough, he made sure to spare some for me as a 'gift' just so I stayed hooked. He used my silver tongue to sell more drugs and used my addiction to make sure he got almost my entire share."

Tears were now welling in both of their eyes.

"But it stopped, right? You managed to beat it eventually…Didn't you?"

His bottom lips quivered as he looked at her.

"I… I tried to kill myself carrots. At… At one point I-I couldn't do it anymore and…"

Nick stopped and looked around. He pulled the car to the side of the road and turned the engine off. He then turned to her with sad eyes.

"I made a noose and I hung myself."

"Nick…" She whispered.

"The rope snapped, Judy. It was a good rope and it just… Snapped like that… I should be dead."

Judy unbuckled her seatbelt and made her way to Nick to give him a hug. At first he seemed surprised, but he then melted into the hug. He passed his own arms around Judy's tiny frame and lowered his head so it rested atop of her own. They stayed like that for a moment before he continued.

"After that I realized I wanted to live. There's a difference between wanting to kill yourself and doing it. I was never more scared of dying than when the rope was strangling me before it snapped."

Judy was openly crying into Nick's shoulder now. He seemed to be more distant about the whole thing.

"The next day, I threw away all the drugs I had and decided to stop dealing with Perry. The withdrawal that came with it was terrible. For days, I couldn't stop throwing up but it was still better than having to deal with him. I still owed money to a lot of people so Perry hooked me up with Mr. Big. That went well until the whole rug incident. Sometimes I think Perry knew I would eventually piss off Mr. Big, and that he only sent me to him to get rid of me. After that I went back to street hustling like before. I met Finnick, we developed the pawpsicle scam and continued that way for a long time. That was until some dumb bunny blackmailed me with tax evasion, of course."

Judy emitted a sound between a sob and a laugh and looked up at him. He himself looked down at her with what she could recognize as love in his eyes. He slid both of his thumbs on her cheeks to dry away the tears.

"You bunnies, so emotional…"

Judy gave another strangled laugh and pressed her head back against his chest.

"Seriously Nick? We were having a moment right there."

They stayed for a long time like this, both enjoying the closeness of each other.

"You asked once why I didn't want to find Perry even though it would help the case. Well here you go. You know why now."

"Thank you Nick. For letting me know…"

He smiled into the top of her head before he pulled away from the hug.

"Come on, Fluff. We have a crime boss to meet."

Judy buckled up and Nick started the car again. Sometime later, they arrived at the front gate of The Big’s mansion. Normally, the guards standing post at the front of it would be weary to see a police cruiser coming, but they had been warned of their arrival.

The polar bear at the entrance moved the chain blocking the way to let them pass. They pulled into the driveway of the fancy mansion and parked along it. One of the bear guard invited them in with a gesture of his paw and guided them towards Mr. Big's office.

"Judy! Nick!" Came a squeaky voice.

They both looked to their left where they could see Fru-Fru being carried by another polar bear.

"Judy, Nick, it's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you two." Said Judy as she blew kisses on each side of the shrew while she did the same in a sort of synchronized dance. "Love your shoes by the way."

"Hey Fru!" Said Nick.

"Oh my God! There amazing right! I got them for such a good price at Mousy's. Soooooo, you guys gonna tell me why you're here? I bet the case must be exciting!"

"You know we can't talk about it Fru."

"But you're going to talk to daddy about it. Why not me?"

Judy sighed. She knew that if she didn't give Fru-Fru at least a little bit she would keep pestering them about it.

"We're looking for a murderer. He killed one civilian and two police officers that were good friends. We think he probably killed a lot more also but we don't have proof."

"Oh my God that's terrible!"

They chose not to point out that her father might have "iced" as many or more and kept walking toward the office.

Mr. Big was already inside, seated on his little chair on the desk. Nick wondered if he ever walked anywhere on his own. He might have thought he was paralyzed if he hadn't seen him dance with his daughter on her wedding. Koslov, Mr. Big's personal guard, sat behind the desk waiting. Overall, the scene resembled that of when they had met for the Night Howler case, except that they weren't hanging over a frozen hole.

Before anything else, they approached the crime boss and gently kissed his ring. Even Though they were in good relation now, it was a ritual the shrew imposed to everyone but his closest family member and his guards since they were always around him.

He lit up and a smile appeared on his face once they moved away after kissing the ring.

"Ah my childs! It is good to see you."

"The pleasure is ours." Said Nick.

"So tell me Nicky my boy. What brings you to me today? Any problems you need… Taken cared of?"

"No, no nothing of the sort. We're looking for a murderer."

Mr. Big's smile immediately disappeared.

"I am not dealing in that business." He said flatly.

"No, that's not what we're saying." Interrupted Judy. "But we have been told that you might have… Dealt with the mammal we're looking for in the past."

Mr. Big's frown furthered.

"I'm sorry but I cannot talk about the people I deal with, not to police."

"Please daddy, he killed their friends."

"Sweetheart, I told you not to…"

Mr. Big had talked with a soft voice but his daughter interrupted him with a loud one.

"How can you do this! She's Judy's Godmother, they are a part of the family you said it yourself!"

"But…"

"You always say that family comes first, no matter what!"

The crime boss stayed quiet. He looked around lost in his thought before he spoke softly again.

"Honey get out of the room please."

"But daddyyyy…"

"Fru-Fru, I said get out!"

A polar bear stepped closer to the shrew and offered her a paw. She reluctantly stepped on it. And he carried her out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"I may or may not know the mammal you're looking for. It depends upon whom you are after."

"All we know is that he's a platypus and he's been doing this for the past decade." Said Nick.

Mr. Big slowly nodded.

"Mmmh yes I know who you want. He is an extremely dangerous mammal; it might be best for you if you stopped this chase while you can."

"Please, we need to know."

Mr. Big gave a sigh and looked around. He was not quite ready to tell them what they wanted to know yet. He was still weighing the pros and the cons.

"How do you even know that I am aware of this mammal?"

"Perry told us." Answered Nick.

This seemed to get the shrew's attention. His head snapped back to the fox with a confused look.

"Who?"

"Perry, he's the one that told us."

The rodent's large brow lowered further.

"But… Perry IS the hitmammal."

If a fly flew in the room, it would have been by far the loudest thing.

"But that doesn't make sense, why would he…"

 

_Sometimes I think Perry knew I would eventually piss off Mr. Big, and that he only sent me to him to get rid of me._

...

 

"That crafty little Motherfucker…"

They looked at him confused.

"Come on carrots, we have to go now." Nick said while getting up.

When she looked at him perplexed and didn't make a move, Nick had to press on.

"We don't have much time fluff come on! We have to catch him before he realizes."

They gave they're thanks to Mr. Big and left without further ado. They were now running down the hallway towards the main entrance.

"Nick what's going on?"

"Perry must have thought I was still in fallout with Mr. Big. He sent us here in the hope we'd get iced."

"That's why he didn't ask for anything in return?"

"Probably. He wanted Mr. Big to do the dirty work for him. But that means he might not know yet. He won't expect us back so we might get able to get the drop on him and arrest him in surprise."

…

Nick and Judy had left the restaurant just a few minutes ago. Perry took out his cellphone and went through his contact list. He found the name of the polar bear that served as an intermediary between him and Mr. Big and dialed it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Perry. I have information Mr. Big might be interested about."

"Go on…"

"Nicholas Wilde is coming over to give him a visit."

"We already know."

"What, how?"

"Miss, Hopps messaged lady Fru-Fru. Why?"

"Hold on, how does the bunny have the boss's daughter's number?"

"She is the Godmother of the little Judy did you not know? In fact, she was named after her."

Perry went silent when the realization hit him.

"How do you even know they're coming, anyway?"

"Not important." Responded the platypus and then hung up without waiting for a response.

He looked in front of him, eyes lost in the horizon.

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!"

How could he have not known about this? It was his job to know about those things. So how come information as crucial as this didn't reach him?

…

One of the bears opened the front door to let the two officers exit. They were greeted by a wall of wind and snow.

"The habitat bureau didn't announce a snow-storm today, did they?"

The Zootopia Habitat Bureau, or ZHB as its commonly referred to, was the organization in charge of all the climatization infrastructure. To make it simple, they were the guys in charge of the huge A/C in all the districts of Zootopia. They kept Tundra town cold, Sahara Square hot and the Rainforest District moist. From time to time, they would schedule a day of more extreme weather to make sure the climate felt more natural for those districts, and not too controlled. They would usually announce in advance those days, so people could prepare.

Nick shrugged. "As far as I know, they didn't."

They didn't waste more time thinking about it since they had far bigger problems right now. Instead they got into the cruiser, Judy driving and went off to the restaurant in the hope Perry would still be there, however they doubted it.

…

Perry called another number on his phone. This one wasn't in his contact list, that would have been stupid. No instead he had just memorized it as the most important number he knew of. The mammal on the other side answered.

...

"It's Perry."

…

"Yeah, yeah, Ad Maius Bonum, whatever. Listen I'm going to need your help."

…

"Situation got bad, I need you to pull a few strings for me."

…

"Here's what I'm going to need you to do…"

...

The storm had started getting worse over time. They were now rolling on a country road, sirens on, with almost no visibility whatsoever. At that moment, Clawhauser's voice came over the radio.

"To all patrolling units, ZHB has confirmed a malfunction in the climate wall. Tundra Town is going to suffer the biggest blizzard it has ever seen. The storm is only going to get worse with time. City hall as issued a warning and asked all mammals in the area to remain in their homes and wait until the storm dies out. The chief as assigned a few extra teams to ensure the safety of the population."

Nick and Judy both looked at each other.

"Well, someone at the ZHB is getting fired…"

…

The phone rang.

"Zootopia Habitat Bureau, what can we do for you today?" Said the cheery receptionist.

…

The antelope lost her cheery attitude as soon as he had spoken the words.

"Of course, I'll put you through straight away."

She pressed a button on the intercom and spoke into it.

"Mr. Gorbachev, your doctor is on line two, he says it's urgent."

Mikael Gorbachev was the manager and lead engineer of the climate wall that separated Tundra Town and Sahara Square. He oversaw everything, from keeping the temperature steady to making sure this wall wasn't brought down by natural phenomenon.

"Thank you, Stacy." He said into the intercom and then picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

…

"S-sir…"

…

"I understand but… how? Surely someone would find out."

…

"I'll do it. I'll sabotage the climate regulator."

…

"Ad Maius Bonum."

…

The horizon was now hidden behind an opaque white curtain. The wind blew at dangerous speed across the countryside, carrying large amount of snow with it. The temperature had fallen to dangerously low levels, so much so that only the most resilient of species could survive being outside for an extended amount of time. Anymore cold, and Nick swore that even the fuel would freeze. They had cranked the heater of the car to maximum and even then, shivers occasionally ran through both of their spines.

"This is why I never want to live in Tundra Town." Interjected Nick.

"It's not that bad usually."

"I know that but still… This place is hell but even worse because it's cold."

It made Judy laugh, a thing Nick was glad for. She always looked better when she was smiling or laughing in his opinion.

"So… you're more of a Sahara Square type of guy?"

"Are you crazy, bunny?! I still got fur you know. When summer heat comes, I spend as most time as I can away from that furnace. No, I'm good with the nice regulated temperature of Downtown and Savannah Central. You know… natural weather."

"You did seem to be at ease with the whole natural look at the Mystic Spring Oasis." She grinned at him.

"Hey, a fox has to keep some secrets… Maybe someday I'll take you there..."

Judy blushed at the idea and felt her still present heat poke at the primitive side of her brain that screamed to her to just stop and rip both of their clothes off.

**~Tell him. Now is the time, just tell him…**

"Nick?"

"Mhmm?"

**~Okay, deep breath. 3… 2… 1…**

"I…"

Due to the storm, Nick never saw the truck coming until it was too late. The first moments played in slow motion. The first thing he saw was the snow on Judy's side lite up as the headlights shined on them. A Shadow then emerged from the white curtain, the silhouette of a large truck coming right for them on Judy's side. Slowly, details emerged from the shadow and Nick could see the metal bumper, the radiator and the headlights themselves. He didn't have the time to react, didn't have the time to brace himself that the truck hit their cruiser at high speed.

The next moments happened so fast, or maybe he had lost consciousness in the middle of it. The much larger truck propelled their relatively tiny car out of the road and down the hillside that bordered the road they drove on. The cruiser was sent rolling down the inclined hill at high speed to finally end up upside down.

He stayed like this motionless for what felt like minutes before rational thoughts came back. Nick's first reaction was confusion. Why did everything feel weird? Oh, yeah. That's right. He was still strapped in his seat upside down. He slowly and painfully reached the buckle and detached it, resulting in him falling and hitting his head on the roof of the car.

"J-Judy are you alright?" He asked weakly.

He turned around to see his partner still in her seat. Her eyes were closed and blood was running down her ears coming from a wound on the top of her head.

"Judy, no!"

Ignoring his own pained body, Nick reached out to her and extracted her from her seat. He carefully held her as to not let her fall like he did. He then limped his way out of the car through a broken window with her carefully cradled in his arms.

"Please Judy no! Don't do this to me. Please, God, please!"

He put her down on the ground and verified her vitals. Her heart was beating, she was breathing and the wound seemed to, thankfully, not run too deep. That didn't mean however that she was fine. For all he knew, she might have internal bleeding. He needed to get her to a hospital as quickly as he could.

Nick looked up, eyes squinted as he was blinded by the snow, and saw a figure looking at them from the top of the hill. Probably the truck driver that had gotten out to check on them he reasoned.

"HELP! PLEASE HELP ME!"

The driver kept standing there without moving. He looked down at Nick holding Judy close from the top of the hill. At that point Nick noticed something was wrong. He couldn't put his claw on it yet but he knew something was off. Due to the snow, Nick could only see the outline, which was already distorted by the big winter coat the mammal wore but he still could make out some details.

Slightly smaller than him, probably about Judy's size...

Flat tail…

Palmed paw…

Gun…

Shit!

The palmed paw that was holding the gun rose to point the barrel at him. He quickly managed to lift Judy and duck behind the wreck of the police cruiser. He heard the bullets hit the metal frame of the car and then stop. He was probably making his way down the hill to round the car and shoot them. Nick crawled back into the wreckage and grabbed the radio to call for help. He soon found out that it had been busted by the crash. His next thought was to get the high power tasers they held in the trunk but he realized he didn't have time. He needed to get out of here while carrying Judy and reach safety as soon as he could.

He took the motionless bunny in his arms and ran in the opposite direction from the murderous platypus. He heard shots getting fired at them but with the strong wind blowing snow across the fields, the normally steady shooter missed his target and they got far away enough for him to lose visual contact.

"Shit!" Perry muttered.

He took a portable radio that was hanging on his belt and turned it on.

"Shut it down." He ordered.

He then ran as best as he could in the new snow towards where the fox and the bunny had fled.

Nick kept running with Judy in his arms without looking back. If he ever stopped, he ran the chance of getting both Judy and himself shot. He ignored the cold that was biting his flesh and taking his breath out of his lungs and kept running. He soon felt the unconscious bunny squirm in his arms, and he felt relieved to see her open her eyes.

"Nick?"

"Judy, are you okay?"

"Where are we, what's going on?"

Nick nervously chuckled.

"Yeah, you missed a bit, but to catch you up, Perry is trying to kill us."

"What?"

"Yeah I know, he's fast. Listen, can you run?"

"He… Yeah, yeah I think so." She said while putting a paw to her head.

"Great. Here's what we're going to do. The storm is dying down, and we're in a field so as soon as it goes he's going to have a clear shot on both of us. You keep running this way and I'll run towards him to distract him while you get to safety."

"Nick no! You're going to get shot!"

"Shot at? Yes. That's the plan. He can't shoot at both of us at the same time. Get shot? Well that depends how fast I am."

"Nick I'm not leaving you behind!"

"If you don't, we'll both get shot. And you're the most injured so you would have more chance to get hit than me."

"Nick you'll die!"

"Better me than you." He said in a matter-o-fact way.

"No, that's not true, don't say that!"

"But it is!" He said almost angry. "Zootopia needs you more than it needs me."

"Nick I love you!"

This made him stop.

"I love you and I know that you love me and there's no way I'm letting you die because I need you! We're doing this together whatever happens."

He looked down at the bunny in his arm wide eyes, mouth hanging. Judy could see the confusion, fear and hope all mixed in his eyes.

Just as he was about to say something, a loud sound like that of thunder rang through their ears and a cloud of snow rose upward from the ground next to them. Without looking back, Nick knew that Perry was in range to shoot them. Fortunately, with the storm dying off he could make out the outline of a building in the distance. He dodged a few shots and smiled as he knew that Perry was probably cursing the snow.

They made it to the building that happened to be a large wooden barn. From the size of the doors, he could tell that the mammals running this farm were much larger than them. He opened the doors and rushed inside with Judy still in his arms. He quickly found a hiding place behind one of the haystacks. He dropped Judy next to him and rested his head against the hay. Now that he had stopped, he could feel his muscles aching from the accident and the run in the less than friendly weather.

"When is backup coming?" Ask Judy.

"It isn't… The radio… was dead." He replied in between pants.

They stayed quiet for a moment.

"So… You love me?"

"Is it that hard to believe?"

"Yes. Extremely…"

Nick was cut short by the sound of the barn's wooden door creaking open. They could no longer hear the wind blowing outside so it was very easy to make out the light footsteps.

"Ni-ick… Come out and pla-ay!" Perry said in a sing-song voice.

The hitmammal looked around to try to spot the fox and the bunny. He didn't like his situation. The bunny had better ears than him, the fox better smell and since the barn was dim, better vision. In all actuality, he was at a disadvantage and there was a thousand nook and crannies they could have been hiding behind. That didn't mean he was scared. If it came down to a fight, he knew he could take both cops out. He simply needed to be extra careful.

"You know…" He said out loud. "This reminds me of that time I killed two ZPD investigators."

He hoped that by taunting them, they would make a mistake and reveal their location.

"I tell you those guys were so clueless. It was funny, after I shot the first one the other turned around so frightened. He did a weird face when he died because of that, you should have seen it… Hilarious."

He continued to pay as much attention as he could to his surroundings.

"You know this is a losing fight, right? The storm is over; you can't run into the fields you'd be easy targets. You can't stay hidden forever, I'll find you eventually and there is no one coming to help. You can't fight me even with the number advantage. I wasn't lying when I said the killer was the best money could buy. I've killed hundreds of mammals; the police don't even know they're dead yet. Might as well come out and let me get a clean head shot. It'll be less painful."

Nothing…

Wait, no, a sound! A wooden door creaking open. It couldn't be them; he would have seen them make a run for it. Perry quickly hid behind a pillar where he could peek at the door.

Two large polar bear, both armed, entered. Perry could easily recognize Mr. Big's henchmammals.

"Ms. Hopps, Mr. Wilde! The boss is concerned for your safety, rightly so considering the trail of blood we followed from your car to here. Are you alright?"

"Watch out he's here!" Judy screamed.

Perry smiled to himself. He knew the sound had come from behind a hay stack. They had just given their position away. Now all he needed to do was to get rid of the bears and then he could deal with them.

"Mr. Perry, the boss asks you to stop hunting these officers. They are under his protection."

"Fuck off, I worked for Big once and he's a lousy employer."

Both bear raised their weapons towards the pillar where the sound had come from. They slowly walked towards it, one bear going around each side of the wooden beam. However, when they made it around, both of them finding the place where they had thought the platypus was hiding to be empty.

Before they knew it, Perry jumped on one of the bears from above. He landed a good kick in his neck while his venomous spur penetrated his flesh. The bear screamed in agony as let his gun go and fell to the ground. The other bear spun around and tried to shoot the tiny platypus with his high caliber pistol. The enormous bullet hit the ground, missing its target, with a powerful impact while the assassin slid under the larger mammal's legs. Perry jumped up and place another poisoned kick into the back of the bear. The crime boss's henchmammal cried out in pain and struggled to stay up but his limbs became paralyzed and he eventually fell.

With a proud smile, Perry looked up from the two paralyzed bears at his feet, yelling in agony. He would kill them later, but right now he had to focus on the reason he was there in the first place.

"It's a shame that you stopped selling with me Nick. You were the best seller I ever had. Oh well. You know what they say…" He stated while walking towards the haystack. "Everyone is replaceable."

Perry came around the corner ready to shoot them only to find the spot empty. They had used his distraction while he fought to pull the same trick he pulled on the bears.

"Hey asshole!" He heard Nick's voice from behind him.

When he turned around, he saw Nick holding one of the polar bear's gun. Since they were too large for him to hold normally, he had placed the barrel on a haystack and the grip was supported by the ground. He was effectively using the gun as a cannon. Perry jumped out of the way just in time to dodge the bullet which hit the hay behind him, making it explode.

"Holly shit Wilde, you're using cannons now?"

Perry knew that Nick had only one shot. The gun was simply too big for a fox to be able to hold it correctly. Nick had been sent flying by the recoil and he simply didn't have enough time to reposition himself. Right now, Nick Wilde was laying on the ground being a perfect target.

Perry raised his weapon and aimed it at the fox. He was about to shoot until…

"Hey asshole!"

The much more feminine voice came from just behind him and Perry didn't have the time to spin around before he was hit to the head by a plank of wood. He had never expected a bunny to be able to swing a plank with so much strength that it knocked him down and set his gun flying from his paw.

That didn't mean he was defeated yet. Without even registering the pain yet, Perry got back to his feet with a jump and tackled the bunny to the ground.

"DON'T MOVE PERRY!"

The platypus turned his head to find Nick holding his gun and aiming it at him. He quickly immobilized the rabbit under his foot and placer his dart at the edge of her throat.

"Lower the gun Wilde!"

"Don't do anything stupid P!"

"I SAID LOWER THE FUCKING GUN!" Yelled Perry as pressed his foot harder against the bunny, threatening to kill her if she moved.

Nick lowered the weapon as asked but kept it ready to shoot if need be.

"I know you care about her Wilde. It's obvious."

"Perry, it's over. You fucked up, you should have sticked to dealing."

"Dealer was only a cover up, I never had any true interest in it."

"You covered murdering by dealing drugs?"

"Doesn't matter. You remember the little lesson I gave you about platypus venom? Well here's what's going to happen. Either you give me the gun, or she dies slowly and painfully. Did I tell you there's no antidote to the venom? Well there isn't just so you know. And you know that even if you shoot me first, I'll have the time to kill her before I die… so what is it."

"Nick no."

Perry pressed harder on her, forcing the air out of her lungs and preventing her to talk.

"Fine."

Nick threw the gun at Perry's feet who immediately picked it up.

"Wow. Love does make you stupid! Don't look at me like that it's obvious. I mean… You might judge me for liking the feel of killing mammals but a fox and a bunny… gross. No, that's just wrong."

Perry pointed the gun at Nick.

"Doesn't really matter because you just gave me the means to kill both of you. So, that's that I guess."

"Reynard." Said Nick with his paws up.

"What?"

"Reynard."

"What does that low life as to do with any… Oh you know what I don't give a shit."

Perry pressed the trigger only to hear the familiar click of an empty gun.

"Wha…"

"NOW!" Screamed Nick.

At that moment, Judy used the moment of confusion to grab the platypus's leg and pull it away from her throat while she delivered a solid kick in his groin like she had gave to Reynard. Nick then ran and tackled him off her. He quickly placed paw cuffs on his legs to prevent him from kicking anyone with his dart while Judy cuffed his arms behind his back.

Perry struggled but the cuffs were made to handle much larger mammals so they held strong.

"Don't you know Perry… You can take the fox out of the street but you can't take the street out of the fox."

Nick kneeled in front of him and waggled the gun's magazine in front of his eyes.

"You filthy pickpocketing fox."

"Says the guy who kills mammals for a living. Thanks for the confession by the way."

"What confession?"

Both officer grin mischievously at him and Judy took out a pen shaped like a carrot. She pressed a button on it and he heard his voice.

"This reminds me of that time I killed two ZPD investigators."

His eyes widened in realization, which brought great pleasure to the officers standing above him.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart." Said Nick with a grin.

"Perry Flynn, you are under arrest for the murder of two ZPD officers, Ronald Thidwick, attempted murder of keepers of the law and possession of illegal weaponry." Said Judy.

As if waiting for a cue, they heard police sirens coming their way. Someone must have heard the gunshots or maybe the precinct got suspicious after the beacon on their police cruiser said that they had stopped in the middle of a road and that they didn't respond to radio call.

"Well, fuck me." Sighed Perry.

…

Judy and Nick were seated on a hospital bed next to each other. Perry had been taken away to the precinct's cell where he would wait for interrogation the next day.

They had been carried to the hospital to check for any serious injuries. Judy had suffered from a small concussion but the doctors didn't think it would be a problem. Her head wound was only the result of broken glass and, if kept clean, would heal just fine. Nick on his part barely had a twisted ankle.

Mr. Big's bears had it worst but the doctors assured them they would survive. Platypus venom was simply not potent enough to kill mammals of their size. They would be paralyzed for the next few hours and they were in A LOT of pain, but there wouldn't be any lasting harm.

Bogo was standing in front of the two officers.

"Congratulations…" He said with little to no enthusiasm.

If Nick didn't know any better, he would have thought the chief's comment was sarcastic. But he knew this was as excited as Bogo could physically get about anything. Well anything except from gazelle but that was a secret he thought he kept well.

"You've successfully closed the case. The killer is behind bars and thanks to you we already have his confession. To be honest, I'm starting to consider equipping every officer with these pens."

"Thank you sir, but we shouldn't close the case yet. Perry was an assassin, so someone hired him to kill Coon and Porkins. We still have no idea of who is behind this and their true motives," said Judy.

They still hadn't told Bogo about what they had found on their late coworker's terminal. They knew something else was going on but they still had no idea what. Why did Arfur tail his boss? Why did they hire Perry to kill their friends as well as one of the two moose brothers? Who was "they", anyway? Really, Judy and Nick felt more lost than anything. Before they had a clear objective: find the killer. But now they didn't know where or what to look for.

"You're right." Said the chief. "I'll have officers interrogate the platypus tomorrow. Meanwhile you get the rest of the week off. You've earned it."

Bogo attempted to leave the room, but Judy stopped him.

"Chief!"

"Sigh. What is it Hopps?"

"We don't need the days off. We could interrogate him ourselves."

"Hopps, you just got concussed. The doctors told you to take it slow."

"I'm not planning on chasing perps around. I'm only asking to interrogate the suspect."

"For once I agree with Carrots…" Bogo gave him a scolding look. "I mean, Officer Hopps. We know way more about the killer that anyone else. We would be able to make him crack way easier than anyone else."

_**~Plus, I want to play around with the fucker.** _

"If I say no, you're still going to show up, aren't you?"

"Most definitely."

Bogo sighed. "Fine. But at least take the morning."

"Thank you, Chief."

"Don't thank me. I just don't want to argue with a stubborn Hopps."

This earned a giggle from Nick which was met by a death glare from Judy. Bogo then left the room, leaving the two of them together.

There was an awkward silence before Judy spoke up.

"So… Nick…" She said looking at the ground.

"Can this wait till we get home?"

"Y-Yeah sure..."

The doctors had given them the permission to leave and head home, so that's exactly what they did. The bus ride there was silent and awkward. So was the walk to Nick's apartment. Judy thought he would never speak until he closed the door behind them.

"Was it true?" He asked without looking at her. "What you said."

"Of course it was… Nick…"

"Why?" He cut her.

"What?"

"Why would you love me? Why would a girl like you ever go for a guy like me, a mess like me?"

"Nick you're not a mess. You're perfect to me." She said while getting closer to him.

"Perfect! Are you kidding me?" He sounded angrier than anything now which made her flinch. "I told you today that I used to be a drug dealer and an addict and you just go ahead and tell me you love me?! You're supposed to hate me, hell you should arrest me."

Nick walked to the couch and crashed on it. He put his head in between his paws and looked down to the floor.

"Nick…" Judy reached to him. "Nick look at me."

She placed her paw on one side of his head, caressing his cheek. She gently forced him to look up. They were face to face eyes to eyes. She could see that his emerald eyes were glassy with tears threatening to fall at any moment now.

"Nick I love you… and... If you love me, if you ever loved me… Just tell me… please."

His lower lips quivered as he spoke.

"Of course I love you Judy. I love you more than anything, more than anyone..." He said while stroking her cheek in turn.

She made a sound between a sob and a relieved laugh.

"But we can't…"

All the happiness she had felt from hearing the words he had previously spoken left her.

"W-Why not?"

"I'm a fox Judy for crying out loud. A predator, you're natural predator."

"After all we've been through you still think I care?"

"You might not but others will."

"Others said all my life that a bunny could never become a cop. They said that all foxes were untrustworthy, yet I thrust nobody as much as I do you."

"It's not the same."

"Yes. It. Is. I don't care about others, Nick. I care about you."

"What about the ZPD? You know the rules. This could cost us our jobs. I refuse to be the reason you had to give up on your dreams."

"Bogo doesn't need to know. Nick, please, stop fighting this."

She continued to gently stroke his fur. He seemingly melted and leaned in to the touch.

"You're making it really hard to be responsible, Fluff."

"Then don't…" She said getting closer to him.

Their muzzles were now merely inches away from each other. They locked eyes and watched the other carefully.

Judy closed her eyes and leaned a little closer. She kissed him and Nick didn't protest. He in turn closed his eyes and kissed her back.

The first kiss was awkward and messy since the species difference made it hard to nail it right. But they learned each other's mouth and quickly adapted to it.

The kiss became more passionate and Nick moved the paw that was caressing her cheek to the back of her head as his other paw held her back. He brought her closer to him as she placed her own paws around his neck. She was now seated on his lap, straddling him while they kissed passionately.

Judy opened her mouth to let Nick's tongue enter and moaned when it did. His tongue was so big it could probably fill her whole mouth if he chose to do so. Her own tiny tongue darted out to reach his and dance with it.

Their hearts raced as they battled in their mouths and quickly they found themselves to be out of breath.

They reluctantly parted and breathed deeply while looking at the other. Nick's paw caressed her ears at the back of her head. He looked at her as if she was the most beautiful thing in the whole universe, because she was to him.

This time, it was he who initiated the kiss. He kissed her quickly and passionately as if he depended on her to live. They went at each other's mouth eagerly and endlessly until Judy pulled away.

Her heat had woken up in the meantime and she was now burning with desire.

"Nick I need you…" She let out in a low voice.

Hearing this, Nick's eyes grew. Judy could see a mix of fear and longing in them.

"Judy, we shou…"

 

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

 

She cut him off with a chaste kiss on his lips. She hopped off from his lap and stood before him. She started to slowly unbutton her uniform under his watchful eye. He watched silently as Judy purposely made a show of her undressing. The further she went, the heavier his breath became.

In no time, she was standing in front of him in merely her sport bra and her already soaked panty. It was hard to refrain from simply tearing her clothes off but the effect the slow undressing had on him was worth it. He looked at her with a face that looked strangely like the one he had made when she had blackmailed him with tax evasion. His breathing was quick and heavy and he supported a rather large bulge in his pants that made Judy's heat burn even hotter. It looked as if he was restraining himself too.

Judy passed her paws behind her back and undid the strap of the bra to let it fall unceremoniously to the ground. After it hit the floor, the only sound that could be heard was that of Nick swallowing loudly.

She slowly made her way back onto his laps and gave him another passionate kiss.

"T-this is really happening?" He asked once she pulled away.

"God I hope so. I don't think I can hold myself anymore."

Nick swallowed once again before he spoke.

"We should go to the bedroom then."

Without waiting for her to answer, he grabbed her and held her close to him. He felt her small breast push against his chest as they resumed kissing. Never breaking the kiss, he got up and carried her to the bedroom.

While they went there, Judy managed to pop open a few of the top buttons of Nick's uniform. He dropped her on the bed and opened the rest eagerly. He tossed the shirt out and then pulled the white t-shirt he wore under it over his head.

Judy drank him in in silence. His time at the academy had certainly done wonders for the slim fox. His chest was muscular and well defined and the muscles on his arms were clearly visible.

Nick hunched over to kiss Judy once more. Their chests were pressed against each other, fur on fur. The friction only made their kiss more heated and Judy found herself to be dry humping his chest but soon enough Nick pulled away. Judy was going to complain but her whine was shut as he brought his mouth to her neck. In all logic, having a fox's muzzle so close to her should have made the instinctive part of her brain scream at her to run but instead it screamed:" Mate! Mate! MATE!"

Nick kissed her neck and passed his tongue over it which elicited a few moans from her. He gently nibbled her skin with his front set of fangs, and she rolled her eyes inside as she whispered his name.

Receiving these encouragements, Nick traced a path of kisses from her neck to her breast. He took her nipple into his mouth and sucked on it while he played with the other with his paw. She let out a gasp and arched her back to push her nipple into his mouth and give him easier access.

"Oh, Nick!"

Her paws went to the top of his head where she grasped at his fur as if it was a lifeline. She stroked his fur, grabbed his ears and caressed the side of his face as he gave close attention to her breast with his mouth. Her hips began to buckle up again as they tried to find something to grind against.

Seeing this, Nick stopped his ministration and moved his head in between her legs. She felt his hot breath wash up on her most intimate part and closed her legs in reflex. Nick gently pushed them apart and looked up at her asking for permission.

"Pl-please… yes…"

He nuzzled the wet panties that still covered this part so that they rubbed against her. He took deep breaths and she could feel the blow of his muzzle as he exhaled with a satisfied sigh. She smelled so good to him it made him salivate. As he gave a few more playful nudges, Judy whined in need.

"Nick stop being such a tease."

The comment made him smile and he used one claw to hook her panties and pulled them down just enough so that he could trap his head in between it and her. When he approached his snout to her lips to sniff them, she tried to force him in on her but he stopped her with one of his paw by pinning her hips to the mattress.

Of course, he couldn't help but tease her. He was Nick after all, it was in his nature. It would have been like asking a wolf not to howl at the full moon.

Nick started by giving her one tentative lick. Just that one lick sent electricity all along her body and she tried to once again force him in while she moaned loudly. Her hands were now grasping at the sheets of the bed tightly as if she was waiting for something painful. Instead of pain came another wave of incredible pleasure as Nick gave another lick. and then another, and another…

The pleasure he gave her was the greatest thing she ever felt in her life and yet she needed more. It was as if he could read her mind because what happened then was that he pushed his tongue inside her and Judy gasped out his name. Canines were known for having large tongues and their size difference meant that he could fuck her harder than a rabbit could only using his mouth. It's exactly what he did as his tongue darted in and out at fast pace while he sucked on her lips. It took about 30 seconds which felt like a glorious eternity for her before she came screaming his name. Her back arched and she drove her hips on his snout as her inside pulsated around his tongue which was now lapping at her juice.

Nick pulled away grinning and whipped his mouth with the back of his paw.

"Am I really that good?"

"S-shut up, it's a rabbit thing."

"I see…" He said suggestively. "Well don't mind me, I'm going to clean up the mess I made down there."

With that, Nick ducked back in and started to lick her again. He lapped at her eagerly as if he was starving. Judy let her head fall back and sink into the bed. She felt herself start the slow ascension to her second orgasm.

"Nick." She called out to him.

He seemed to confuse it for another of her moans since he didn't pay attention to it. She grabbed his ears and pulled him up.

"Nick…"

This time he looked at her in the eyes with a somewhat worried look.

"You're wearing too much clothes." She said between heavy breaths.

The worry faded as the words sank in and Nick looked down at his pants that were trapping his erection. Before he could do or say anything, Judy had crawled to him.

She grabbed the buckle of his belt and with one swift movement loosened it and pulled his pants down. All that was left were Nick's boxer pitched like a tent. In turn she grabbed the edge and looked up at him. She considered his eyes and pulled the undergarment down without breaking eye contact. She could feel the warmth radiating from his waist. She decided to finally look down and was surprised by the size of it.

Yes, she knew fox were larger and yes she had seen it before when he had been masturbating. But seeing it this closed made her realize how big exactly it was. She worried for one moment if it would even fit.

Nick must have seen what she thought through her expression because he laughed and gave her a grin.

"Yeah I know I'm impressive."

She looked back up at him and gave him a scolding look before she turned her attention back to his throbbing member. While she never had been with a rabbit, she knew what they looked like from her sex-ed and the internet. It was smaller obviously. Bunnies were also pinker while Nick's was of a fleshy red. Finally, there was a bulge at the base that she recognized as the knot. She would have lied if she said she had never done… Research on fox genitalia after Nick became her partner. She was wondering now how long this had been coming.

She dared a paw forward and placed it nervously on the heated flesh. Nick threw his head back and grunted as he felt her soft paw on him. She started to slowly stroke him and he purred at the sensation.

"You like it?" She said while rubbing him with more conviction.

"Hmm, your paws are so soft."

She smiled at him and grabbed the more prominent tuft of fur of his chest.

"Come here you."

She pulled him down so he sat onto the bed. She pulled him into a kiss while she kept stroking him. The kiss was deep and passionate and Nick started to moan into her mouth.

One of his paws went to her back while the other lowered further down. He played a little with her tail and then squeezed her rear. This made her squeal and quicken her paw.

Judy pulled away and bit her lower lip. She watched Nick's eyes close in content as he tilted his head back. Judy was pleased to see a large grin on his face.

She stopped stroking him and put a paw back to his chest. She waited until he looked back at her confused, to slowly and sensually push him down so that he laid on the bed. She gave him a quick kiss on the end of his snout and lowered herself back to his thighs without breaking eye contact.

She grabbed his red flesh with both paws and rubbed it as fast as she could.

"Oh my God yes!" Said Nick as he looked up to the sealing. "Don't stop Judy… Yeah like that… Urghhh!"

Nick gave a snarl and Judy chuckled.

"Don't get too excited, we're not done here yet."

With that, she stopped what she was doing and climbed up onto him to straddle his hips. Realizing what she meant, Nick's eyes shot open and he looked to her in a hurry.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Carrots. You're sure you want to do this?"

"It isn't much of a step up from what we've been doing until now."

"But you don't have to do this if you don't want to you know? I'd be perfectly satisfied with just a paw job."

"I wouldn't…"

She moved to place herself above his dick but he grabbed her and pulled her to his chest.

"Wait! I don't have a condom."

She looked at him with a scold.

"Nick we're different species, I won't get pregnant." Judy's eyes widened as a realization dawned upon her. "Nick… Do you have… STD's?"

"No! Nonononono, nothing of the sort." He answered while he petted the top of her head to reassure her. "I checked with a doctor, many times now. I don't have anything."

"Oh good…" She said slowly. "Well this is my first time so…"

"Wait, you're a virgin?"

Judy looked down and blushed.

"Hum… Well… Yes. I never was really… Into this unlike my siblings. But I want this, really, I do. You've been turning me on so much lately it literally hurt."

"So that's what it was…"

"The chest pain? Yes. My medication was acting weird to it so the doctor told me to get off it. I've never been hornier in my entire life. You made me go into heat Nick. Yesterday I couldn't think of anything other than fucking your brain out."

Nick swallowed loudly.

"Nick…" She took his head in between her paws and looked at him in the eyes. "I love you and I wouldn't want to lose my virginity to anybody else."

As if to prove her point, Judy leaned in and kissed him passionately. When she pulled away, Nick was still looking at her with an ounce of uncertainty.

"But… Judy I… I could hurt you…"

"Ha! Please Nick I'm tougher than I look. If I can become a cop, I can take your dick."

"Judy this isn't a joke! I don't want to hurt you. It's the last thing I would want to do."

"I know Nick. I know you would never hurt me." She caressed the side of his muzzle with one of her thumbs. "You're not going to break me Nick."

"Well, you say that now, but…"

"Oh don't worry, training to get into the academy took that part of my virginity a long time ago."

Nick looked confused until he realized what she meant.

"Oh…"

"Yeah." She laughed. "Come on Nick, trust me."

He looked at her perplexed for some time. A smile spread on his face and he gave her a loving smile.

"I love you…" He whispered to her.

He kissed the top of her head and she beamed with joy.

"I love you too. Now lay down and let me handle this."

"You're the boss…"

Judy placed herself over his erection and looked at him one last time for confirmation. When he nodded at her she took his member and placed the tip against her entrance.

Nick grunted as he felt the moist and warm folds that were welcoming him to go inside. Judy was so turned on she was dripping on him.

She started to slowly lower herself on him at a torturous rate. She felt her lips being parted away and her mouth formed an 'O' as a silent scream came out.

It took her 30 seconds to cover half a centimeter before she decided to stop. She was breathing heavily and needed a rest from the effort. She looked down to see Nick, eyes shut, teeth gritted and paws grasping at the mattress so hard, Judy was sure there would be claw marks. He was so big and she was so tight, both were taken away by the sensation.

She knew that if she kept going at this rate, it would take all night to take him once. So instead she decided to take him all at once.

_**~Like pulling off a band-aid, right?** _

She counted down in her head and let herself fall on him…

She only made it halfway until she stopped dead in her tracks. Nick buckle in surprise at the sensation of being taken so deeply so quickly. He might had come right then if it wasn't for her scream. The sound that came from her mouth had nothing to do with pleasure but instead with pain. Nick's foxhood was splitting her in half and she felt like someone had just kicked her in between her legs.

Turns out taking it all at once wasn't a good idea…

Nick reached out to her to make sure she was okay. The thing he dreaded the most had just happened. He had hurt her.

"OH MY GOD JUDY ARE YOU ALRIGHT? I am so…"

"DON'T PULL OUT!"

This made Nick stop in his track.

"I… I'm fine, just… don't pull out."

"Judy you're clearly not all right, you're in pain!"

"no, no… It's nothing… I'm… I'm just stretching it's all..."

Judy lowered herself so that she could rest on Nick's chest who then proceeded to envelop her with his arms. She took deep breath to calm herself and she started to feel the pain fade away and give place to pleasure. When she was finally adjusted to his size, she started to slowly rotate her hips and they both groaned in pleasure. She looked up at him and he had to bend over to reach her and kiss her.

"Let me do it this time." He whispered into one of her ears.

She kissed him back in affirmation and waited. Nick gently picked her up and twisted so that he was now on top. He lifted her rear and held her legs so that only the top of her back and her head was touching the bed.

He slowly yet surely bended his knees and let himself sink into her. He was slow but still faster than Judy had been at first. More importantly, he didn't stop. Not once he slowed or hesitated, he just kept slowly going in further.

Judy screamed again but this time there was no doubt it was from pleasure. She felt herself being split as he went to fast, yet to slow. She wanted him to go harder and softer, faster and slower. If there was pain, she didn't register it because her brain was turning off.

Nick finally stopped when his knot pressed against her entrance. He was surprised he could go this deep but knew there was no going further. He panted as if he had just run a marathon.

"God Judy you're so tight!"

"You're so big!" She responded out of breath.

Nick gave a low primitive snarl as he pulled out barely any faster. Judy sucked in a breath under him as he left her feeling empty. It didn't last long before he went back in and slowly made his way back down.

He stopped bending his knees and instead opted to kneel on the bed and thrust into her.

"Mmm…Nick, faster!"

He was much too happy to comply. His thrust became more needful and he began to speed up. Judy's mind was filled with the thought of Nick. She called out his name repeatedly between pants. Soon enough she reached her second orgasm and there was no doubt that the neighbors must have heard her scream.

Nick never stopped. Not even when her inner walls contracted and tried to suck him in as her bodily fluid slicked his member. His own pre-cum mixed with her juice to allow easier and faster movement.

Still perched above her, he grabbed her by the shoulder and held her as he pounded her as fast as he could. His restless movement didn't allow her to come far down from her previous orgasm and she was already getting close to a third one.

"J-Judy I… Hurgh… I'm close…"

"Don't you dare pull out Nicholas Wilde! Cum into me! OH, YES THAT'S IT CUM INTO ME!"

Encouraged and turned on by her pleasured screams, Nick grabbed her shoulder with his mouth as if to bite her and thrusted one last time into her. His knot grew against her entrance but not entering and he filled her with his seed.

Judy felt the warm liquid filling her insides and went over the edge. Her third orgasm of the night made her walls pulse and milk Nick out of all his seed, rope after rope shot into her.

Nick had unclasped her shoulder and was now breathing heavily into her ear. He finally pulled out of her with an audible "pop" and laid down next to her.

"Wow."

Judy chuckled and went to him to give him a kiss.

"Is wow really all you have to say?" She asked playfully once they parted their lips.

"For a lack of existence of words strong enough to describe how incredibly good this was… Yeah I think I'll just use wow."

They kissed again, this time more deeply and passionately.

"I hope you'll be up for round two then…"

"Round two! Seriously?"

"I did tell you that you put me in heat, no?"

Nick chuckled.

"Yeah that you did… That you did…"

…

Nick passed out after his fourth orgasm. Judy for her part had stopped counting after ten. She was now snuggled against Nick who was sleeping soundly. In his sleep, he turned and covered her with his arms and tail. She nestled her head deeper into his chest and closed her eyes. Sleep found her soon.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

…

"So you're the one who killed Coon and Porkins?"

The tiger looked at the silent platypus in the back of the police cruiser. Fangmeier and Grizzoli had been assigned to carry the killer Hopps and Wilde had just caught to the precinct.

"I understand if you don't want to talk. You know, with the whole 'everything you say could be used against you in trial' but with the recording Hopps has… I don't think you can get out of this."

Silent reign in the car and Fangmeier was sure he would never get him to talk.

"I don't know."

"Sorry what was that?"

Perry turned to the cops escorting him with a smile.

"I don't know. Were Coon and Porkins the two little shitheads of investigators I killed? Because if they were then yeah, I definitely did kill them."

Fangmeier snarled in anger at the small prey in the back seat.

"You're lucky you're already under arrest otherwise I would have to do it myself… And it wouldn't be pretty."

Perry chuckled.

"So when do I get my phone call?"

"What?"

"My phone call… I have the right to a phone call. You see I had a doctor's appointment later this evening and I need to call to push it to tomorrow. You want to know why?"

Perry slowly leaned in towards the officer. The only sound that could be heard was that of the rattling of the cuffs he wore. He pressed the side of his face to the metal grill that separated him and the officers as to get as close to the tiger's ear as he could.

"Because by tomorrow night I'll be a free mammal…" He whispered with a smile.

Perry then leaned back into the seat and looked at the officers with an amused and confident smile.

He was confident because he knew what he said was true…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is… The action, the smut, the suspense… If you think the roller coaster has stopped, your dead wrong, friend. Next chapter should come out in a few days and I tell you it's a game changer…
> 
> As usual, share the love. Comment, favorite/Kudo and follow. I'll see you on the next chapter.


	19. The end of the world

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is my pretties. The final chapter of Act 2: The End of the World. But it's not the end of the story, no. You still have a whole act left.
> 
> This chapter is of a more manageable length than the last one. It still has major game changers though.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the story.

 

 

_This is how the world ends…_

****

****

Judy was the first one to wake up, as usual. On normal days, she couldn't stand the idea of just lying in bed without doing anything like most mammals did. She was a bunny of action, and when awake she needed to do something immediately to occupy herself.

That was on most days, but today wasn't one of those days. She was more than fine with the idea of letting herself be cradled by Nick's strong arms for a while.

They were both in bed together spooning. Nick's tail and arms covered her like a blanket. They were pretty much in the same position than that night they had drunk too much but this time she felt no need to get away.

Nick's breath started to become slightly faster and he squirmed in the bed. She felt Nick press a kiss on the top of her head in between her ears.

"Good morning." He whispered.

She smiled and turned around, still in his arms, to face him. He wore a smile of his own as he looked at her with his two half-lidded eyes.

"You look happy this morning." She said playfully.

"Oh you know, I'm just glad to find out last night was not a dream."

"It wasn't. Believe me I can still feel it."

"Me too. You really went to town on it. I don't know if I'll even be able to walk."

"Imagine me then."

"I thought bunnies were used to those things."

"Other bunnies maybe. Plus, you're much bigger than what I was meant to take."

Nick chuckled and purred sensuously in her ear. She felt the hairs of her fur rise in excitement. She kissed him and he kissed back.

"It just feels too good to be true." He said.

Judy hummed in agreement and kissed him again with eyes closed. She then snuggled her head under his muzzle and in the crest of his neck. They rubbed their fur against each other slowly to mark the other as their mate. Because that's what they were now, mates.

"So… This wasn't just to scratch an itch… Right?"

Judy glared at him offended.

"Nick I love you. Of course this is more than just that!"

Nick smiled and Judy went back to snuggle against him.

"You are one hell of an itch scratcher though…"

Nick laughed and kissed the top of her head. She lifted her chin up to meet his lips and they started making out.

"I could stay like this forever." Said Nick once they had parted.

"Me too…" She gave him another quick kiss. "But we do have to get to the precinct though. We wouldn't want to let Perry hanging."

"Wow, way to kill the mood fluff. Don't you remember that chief buffalo butt ordered us to take the morning anyway."

"Well I guess we could stay in bed just a little longer…"

They both chuckled and resumed where they had left off. Their make out session was long and passionate. Every kiss, movement of their tongues, made the butterflies in their stomachs flutter even more.

"As much as I'm loving this, we really need to get a move on, or Bogo is going to assign other officers."

Nick grunted but didn't protest further.

"I'm going to take a shower." said Judy. "Maybe… You could join me... To save some hot water."

Nick smiled.

"You're full of good ideas you know?"

Judy giggled and Nick followed her eagerly into the bathroom. Since they were saving hot water, it allowed them to have a…hot and steamy shower…

After a little fun, they cleaned each other off and dried themselves. Nick walked out of the bathroom carrying Judy in his arms. She was wrapped in one of the fox sized towel and was snuggling against Nick.

They dressed themselves separately but didn't bother to do it in different rooms. They would often peek at the other to catch glimpses of the other's body before it was veiled by their uniforms.

They went through breakfast as if they had been a couple for years and not hours. They exchanged small kisses as they cooked and Nick would often come behind her and wrap her in his arms.

As Nick held her, he would whisper sweet words into her big ears to make her blush. She turned around at one point and looked at him into the eyes.

"Sooooo… Nick I was thinking and… My place is still being renovated and…"

"Let me stop you right there. Carrots, are you going to say you want to stay with me?"

Judy looked down and played with her paws nervously.

"It's just that… My place is so small and my neighbors are loud and… You know."

"Well I have to admit this is a bit fast…"

Judy felt so uneasy. She had never been in a serious relationship like this before so she had no ideas how those things usually happened.

She was taken out of her thoughts when Nick's paw lifted her chin so that she looked at him.

"But there is nothing I would like more than that."

She smiled at him, happy at his response.

"However, this is no place for a lady of your stature."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if we do this, we might as well find a better place in a better neighborhood. The rent shouldn't be too much of a problem between the both of us."

The truth was that Nick had been thinking of asking her to be roommates for a long time now. He had even been looking at some places in secret. He had never gone through with it however.

"I even have some places in mind."

"Really? You had been thinking about it. Admit it."

Judy put her weight on one of her legs and rested her paws against her hips. She looked up at him with a smile and a cocked eyebrow. She had gotten so good at reading him it sometimes scared him.

"Come on fluffy ball, I'll show you the places."

They looked up the apartments on the internet while they drank coffee.

They agreed to not tell anybody about their newfound relationship just yet. Over time they would tell their close friends when they were sure they wouldn't spread the word. They didn't want Bogo finding out, not because they disliked him or anything, but because ZPD regulation would force him to have the duo be assigned new partners or worst even fire them (the rule wasn't very clear on which to apply in what circumstances). They were sure Clawhauser would be delighted to hear the news, sadly he was too much of a blabber mouth to be trusted.

As for Judy's parents, she would wait before telling them. Despite having promised it, she still hadn't even told them Nick was a fox. She had meant to for a long time now but the recent events had distracted her. She wasn't sure how they would react to her having a fox as a mate.

Maybe even one day they wouldn't even have to hide at all. It would probably require pulling some strings to change the ZPD's policy. She considered trying to get mayor trotter on her side but he would probably refuse to. Not that he was against the idea as far as she knew but it would create polemics and might diminish his voter base. After all, one of the reasons he was elected in the first place was because there was still a lingering fear of predators.

They arrived at the precinct in the afternoon. The other officers who shared their usual shift had been bustling around for a while now. The only one who seemed to not be doing anything was Clawhauser who simply sat at his desk watching videos on his phone.

He looked up and saw the two small mammals walking his way.

"Hey benny!" Started Judy. "Bogo told you we would be coming in today, right?"

"Yeah he did. He also told me to tell you that he has a gift for you. It's waiting in the interrogation room."

Nick and Judy both smirked.

"Thanks Ben. I think we'll take care of our present right away. Shall we carrots?"

She smiled at him and followed him to where a probably pissed off platypus was waiting for them.

"Awwww…those two would be so cute together!" Clawhauser whispered as he leaned his flabby cheek against one of his paw.

"Was that Hopps and Wilde?"

Clawhauser turned around to face Wolford, who had just appeared behind him.

"Yeah why?"

Wolford's nose twitched and his eyes widened.

"Clawhauser?"

"Yeah?"

"Mark my words those two are dating each other."

"What? How do you know?!" Clawhauser practically squealed.

"Trust me I can smell it."

"O-M-Goodness! I have to tell the others."

Clawhauser quickly started typing away onto his phone.

"What's the pool at?"

"427$" stated the cheetah without looking away from the phone in his paws.

"What! How many people bet on it?"

"Let's see…" He started counting in his head. "Including us that would be 32."

"That's more than half our shift!"

"And I'm texting them all right now."

"So…" Started Wolford. "Assuming they hooked up today… Who would have won? I think I was pretty close, right?"

"Let me see." Clawhauser dug in his phone to find the file where he stored the bets. "The closest would be…"

His gleeful face turned into a sad frown.

"Don't be sad Ben. I told you, you shouldn't have bet on it happening so soon."

"No it's not that, it's just that… Porkins is the closest. Followed shortly by Coon."

Uneasy silence fell upon them both. Wolford scratched the back of his neck and opened his mouth.

"$427…That's a lot of flowers."

"They deserve them all."

…

Judy was glad she could keep their relationship a secret. She was never good at hiding something from her parents when she was young so she was glad she hadn't spilled the beans yet. Granted they had only been in the precinct for ten minutes but Clawhauser had been intrusive lately.

They arrived in front of the interrogation room's door which was being guarded by Fangmeier.

"The asshole is waiting for you inside."

He opened the large door for them and ushered them in. As soon as he closed it behind them he felt his phone stir. He took it out of his pocket and saw a text from Clawhauser.

In the center of the room was a table and chairs for mammals of their size. It looked out of place in the otherwise large room made for large mammals. On the other end of the table sat a platypus.

His arms were folded on his chest and his legs sat crossed on the table. Judy could see an orange plastic cap covered his venomous spur. It was probably impossible to remove without a police key.

"God, you took your time! Seriously I'll have to leave a bad review online. The service is terrible."

"Glad you kept your sense of humor overnight. You're going to need it in prison." Said Judy with a smirk. Nick followed her soon after.

"I hope you at least like the food because you should get used to it."

Perry's smirk didn't falter one moment.

"That's where you're wrong pretty bunny. I'm not going to jail."

"With what we have on you? I doubt you'll get to eat real food ever again."

Perry chuckled as if there was something funny about what she said.

"That's a good point. You have my 'confession' already so why am I here?"

"Let's see." Said Nick. "We have the perp: you. We have the murder weapon: forensic confirmed the ballistic results matched with your gun. What we're missing is motive."

"We know you're only hired help." She said. "You told us yourself so the question is, who hired you?"

"He had to be rich after all you're 'the best money can buy'."

"You're right Nick. I wonder though who could have enough money to afford this expensive service."

"Oh, I don't know fluff, how about the CEO of Zootopia's biggest bank?"

With that Judy flopped a photo of Mr. Clawson on the table. Perry for his part looked unimpressed.

"Nice theory. A bit lacking on the connection and/or evidence part but nice nonetheless. But how does it make for a motive exactly?"

"I'm so glad you asked that." Said Nick.

Judy took out two more photos. This time of Po and McArfur.

"Can't say I know them."

"Of course you don't, you're not the one who killed them. You see these two mammals here? They were trailing Mr. Clawson over here." Nick pointed back to the photo of the CEO. "They took photos and everything. I'm ready to bet they found Mr. Clawson's hidden skeletons. He must have been pretty stressed out when he found out they were after him."

"Stressed out enough to hire two dry cleaners to do the dirty work for him." Judy said while putting the photos of the moose brothers on the table.

Perry chuckle.

"Dry cleaners. Dirty work. Good one."

He looked up at them still smiling.

"Come on! It's funny. No, nothing? Fine whatever."

"Point is…" continued Nick.” Those two fucked up and left a nice bread crumb trail all the way to their boss. So, Mr. Clawson, being the saint he is, decided to do things correctly this time around and hired a professional."

"Professional? why, you flatter me."

"He asked you to kill the moose brothers and the two detectives that were on the case. This way there would be no loose ends."

There were still some holes in this theory. Things that still didn't make sense but it was the best they could do right now and it explained the major questions.

Perry looked between the two of them.

"So are you done now? Because it's strange, I just remember killing one of those two." He pointed at the moose. "What happened to the other one?"

"He was killed in prison…"

"Killed in prison! Well that's interesting. Care to tell me detectives how I managed to kill him in prison? I mean… since you have everything else figured out."

"Fine, you didn't kill him but you just confessed killing the other." Said Judy.

Perry smiled again as if she said something funny again.

"I guess I did and there's plenty more I could confess to."

"Like those two cases a few years ago in Tundra Town?"

"Like those but I think I'll be waiting for my lawyer before that. He has been delayed a bit, he had things to do."

"I'd recommend you start talking now because there is no way your lawyer will be able to get you out of this."

"You'd be surprised. He's the best lawyer money can't even buy you." Perry grinned. "But in the meantime, I can tell you a story if you want."

"I don't think there is a story you could say that I wouldn't know about."

"Maybe not you Wilde, but her… Tell me, Officer Hopps, has Nick told you what we used to… 'hustle' together?"

"Yes he did. And if you think that would bother me, or make me like him less you're wrong."

"I'm impressed. But has he told you how many mammals we killed?"

Judy flinched and took a step back as if she had just been hit. She looked at Nick with a frown.

"That's not true!" He hissed. "I didn't kill anybody."

"It's cute that you think that but we both know that's not true. How many do you think overdosed on our product officer Hopps? He knows I reminded him many times."

"N-Nick?" Judy said weakly.

"Don't listen to him, Carrots. He's full of shit!"

"Carrots? That's cute. When you have as many contacts as I do, you get news quickly. How many of our clients do you think I learned the death of when we dealt together? How many, Officer Hopps?"

Judy took another step back and looked at Nick. She met his eyes that were staring at her. She could tell he was afraid, afraid she would leave him. She saw the guilt in these green orbs she loved so much. Guilt and sadness. They looked at each other in silence.

"23." Perry broke the silence. "Most of them teenagers. It's like a small class of student's really."

The sadness in his eyes grew immensely. He mouthed: "I'm sorry… so sorry."

At that moment, the door to the room opened and all three mammals turned towards it. In entered a lama in a suit, a suitcase at the hoof.

"Is it done?" asked Perry.

"Yes." his lawyer nodded.

Perry smiled widely and rose from his seat.

"Now officers if you could please uncuff me so I can go, it would be appreciated."

"Where do you think you're going exactly?" Asked Judy now out of her stupor after the entrance of the lawyer.

"Wherever he wishes to go officer. You can only hold my client for 12h which you have already exceeded. You should feel lucky that he doesn't press charge for juridical abuse."

"Hold on!" Nick jumped in. "Your client is under arrest for murder. We can hold him however long we like."

"Not without proof."

"He confessed."

"Did he?"

"I don't remember doing that."

"You do know these interviews are recorded, right?"

"About that…" Said Perry. "I'm no electrician, but I'm pretty sure the light has to be on for it to be recording."

Perry pointed at the camera in the corner of the room which bore a turned off light. Both Judy and Nick stared at it in disbelief. The camera was supposed to be on constantly, so how come it was not.

Judy snapped out of trance and looked back at the lawyer.

"He attacked us! We have a recording of his confession. There was a dozen Officers present."

"Were the other officers actually present when I supposedly attacked you or did they arrive to find a poor platypus being arrested for no reason? As for those recordings, I would like to hear them if possible."

Judy and Nick looked at each other.

"Stay here I'll go look at the database."

With that, Judy left Nick in the room and ran out. She looked around to find the closest terminal she could see. She saw Clawhauser's terminal sitting on top of the reception desk next to the fat cheetah.

"Clawhauser!" She screamed while running towards him.

"Oh Judy! Listen we need to talk..."

"I don't have time Ben. I need to use your terminal."

"Oh… eh… Sure. Hop on." He said while patting the chair next to him.

Instead she jumped directly onto the desk and took the mouse from his paw. She pushed it around because it was too big for her to hold normally.

She made her way into the database and looked for the audio recording from the carrot pen but it wasn't there. She then went to the report history and found that every officer report and radio transmissions from last night's arrest had been deleted. It had officially never happened.

"Wait, where are the reports?" Asked Benjamin.

Judy slumped down onto the desk and huffed as her eyes went to the horizon.

"They got in…" She said to no one. "They got in and erased everything…"

Nick sat across the grinning platypus and his lawyer. He had been in a staring contest with Perry for the last minute. He hated how happy he was.

He heard the door open again and turned to see Judy slowly walking in with her ears drooping.

"It's gone. It's all gone, everything."

They could always have the other officers testify in court, but none of them were actually there, and without the usual police procedure, their testimony probably wouldn't even be accepted. There was Mr. Big's hench-mammal but they had been carrying illegal weaponry themselves so she doubted they would accept to give a statement.

"Then it means it's your words against ours." The lawyer claimed.

"Well I think that's our cue." Said Perry while rising from his seat. "Now if you would please…" He extended his paw so that his cuffs stood just in front of Nick.

Nick looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Officer, if you don't release my client right now I will have to bring you to court."

Nick grumbled and reached behind him for the keys. He quickly grabbed Perry's cuff but was stopped soon after.

"Ah-ah-ah! Go slow. I'd like to enjoy the moment."

Nick showed his front teeth and snarled at him while he uncuffed him.

"Well it was pleasure speaking with you after so long Nick, but I have to get going. I will use that favor you owe me though. My car was parked in Tundra Town and with me being locked up all night, it was probably towed. So, if you could give a few calls, that would be appreciated."

Perry patted his cheeks a few times like if they were the best of friends and started walking for the door with his lawyer.

Nick and Judy looked silently as the two exited and walked away. Both were boiling with hanger inside.

"How the hell did they manage to get inside the database!?" Said Judy fuming.

"We're back at square one. Worse than that even."

"Maybe not. I'll go tell Bogo, see what he can do about this. You go check if we still have my pen. They copied the recording to the database but we might still have the original."

Nick nodded and they both walked out.

The archives were in the basement, just under the server room. Both were right next to the investigation office since evidence was often carried in between the archives and the office.

Nick passed in front of the reception desk on his way to that area of the precinct.

"Hey Nick, come here. I want to talk with you."

"Not now spots. I don't have the time."

With that Nick made his way into the basement.

Judy hopped her way up the stairs that lead to Bogo's office. The chief spent most of his days in it, dealing with paperwork and unruly officers. Therefor he was most probably still in there.

Judy knocked at his door.

"Come in." Came the voice from behind the gigantic door.

"Chief it's me…"

She heard a chair scraping the ground, followed by heavy steps. The door then opened to reveal the large buffalo in uniform.

"I really need to install a lower door handle." He said in his deep voice. "Still don't know how Ms. Otterton managed to open it, though."

He invited her in with a movement of his hoof and closed the door behind her.

"So what is it, Hopps?"

"It's about Perry, sir."

"Yes what about him?" He looked back down at the sheets spread on his desk to multitask.

"The evidences… it's all gone."

He looked up back at her with somewhat incredulous eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything disappeared. The recording, all the reports, someone deleted them all. And then, Perry's lawyer showed up and claimed we lacked the evidences to detain him and he forced us to let him go."

"HE WHAT!"

"He's free. Someone hacked into the database and erased everything."

Bogo immediately dropped what he was doing and started tapping furiously on his keyboard.

"That's impossible." He said never stopping typing. "The database is an intranet. You can't hack into it, the only way to access it is from…"

Bogo finally stopped typing and looked up. He looked to be confused and worried.

"...from the inside."

Silence fell into the office as they both pondered on the implication. Could there be someone on the inside? Bellwether did have acolytes in the ZPD so it's not impossible that Clawson's organization would…

Then the silence was broken by the sound of the fire alarm. Bogo looked up to the bell in his office with a frown.

"What the he…"

Then came another sound, akin to that of thunder. The loudest sound Judy had ever heard, a percussion of massive magnitude bursting in her ears. With it, came the breaking of glass as the door of the office burst from its frame.

It all happened so fast. Judy felt the blast shake her to her bones. She felt the shock wave, crash against her like a sudden wind. It was so powerful it propelled her from her chair and into the buffalo's desk. Even Bogo was knocked off his chair. The papers on the desk flew like dead leaves in a storm.

Judy was on the ground, trying to get her bearings back. She was unable to hear anything else than the ringing in her ears. She looked up to see her boss on the ground saying something she couldn't grasp. He kept repeating it while looking at her until the ringing conceded and she could understand the words.

"Hopps, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah I'm fine." She said while getting up.

They lost no time and got out of the office to see what caused the blast and the extent of the damage. When they stepped out, all doubts they had on the origin of the blast faded. An explosion had clearly shaken the precinct. Mammals in uniforms were running around shouting, checking on others. Windows were shattered and trash littered the floor as a thin layer of dust was beginning to settle.

"Clawhauser, what the hell is going on?" Asked the chief.

The large cat was picking himself up from the ground.

"T-there was an explosion! It came from wing C."

Judy's blood froze. Wing C was where the investigation office was, which means it was where the archives were…

Which means it was where Nick was.

"I want everyone out of the building until the fire department arrives. Meet at the evacuation point in the parking and…"

Judy hadn't bothered to listen to Bogo. She was running towards the epicenter of the blast, dread biting at her guts.

"HOPPS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" The chief screamed after her.

The closer she got to the archives the more chaotic and messy things became. Small stones littered the floor and objects that had been turned into projectiles by the blast had made holes in the wall.

Then she turned a corner and was met by the outdoors. This section had collapsed. In the wreckage, she could see her and Nick's desk, as well as crushed box used to contain evidences and busted servers.

"NICK!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

She climbed upon the rubbles and looked around.

"NICK!"

Judy spotted orange fur poking out from under a slab of concrete.

"Nick, no please no!"

She ran to it and tried to move the piece of cement. It was many times her weight but she hadn't even registered the charge that she lifted it using her powerful legs.

Good news was that due to the way he laid in the rubble, Nick hadn't been crushed by the debris.

Bad news, there was a steel rod coming out of his chest.

Blood ran from all over his body and his limbs were bent in unnatural ways. She kneeled next to him and took his face in her paws.

"HELP! SOMEBODY SEND HELP!"

She turned back to him and petted the side of his bloody muzzle.

"Nick please don't go." She started crying. "Please, Nick, don't leave me, not now. I love you. You hear me? I love you, and I don't care if the others find out, just… Please stay…"

His eyelids slowly opened and he looked at her weakly.

"J-Judy…" He whimpered before closing his eyes and passing out…

 

 

_This is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Act 2 ends with both! Yes, you heard it right, I'm ending it on a cliffhanger. Deal with it.
> 
> I can promise you that things will just keep going south from the point on until shit hits the fan. Yes, even more than it already did.
> 
> The end of my semester is coming so that means I have plenty of things to study for. Updates should still come quicker than last chapter but I can't promise you frequent updates.
> 
> Other than that, favorite/kudo, follow and comment. Those things are like crack for an author. Seriously, I need my fix.


	20. After the apocalypse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anything else, I want to warn you about something. In this chapter I talk about medical procedure of which I know absolutely nothing about. I am not a student of medicine, but if you are, then there is a good chance that you might scream in pain at what I wrote. I warn you again, what I wrote is most probably wrong and shouldn't be looked too far deep into.
> 
> Other than that, this chapter is shorter than most. I think I'm going to go for similar length for the next few upcoming chapters.
> 
> And now I leave you to read the beginning of act 3.

 

It had been a month and a half since the explosion.

Bogo walked in the courthouse. A month and a half later, internal affairs had finally closed their investigation. There was to be a hearing which Bogo needed to attend.

"A month and a half." Bogo grumbled under his breath. "What took them so long? What were they doing?"

…

"Hopps, what are you doing?"

Bogo had followed his officer towards the origin of the explosion. He had ordered every other officer to wait on the other precincts.

He saw her crouched down in front of something he couldn't see because of the rubble blocking his view. As he came closer he realized that the thing she was crouched in front was the body of one of his officer.

"Nick please don't go!" She cried.

The first thing he noticed was the steel rod coming out from his chest. He had been impaled by one of the bars that ran through the structure of the building. The steel beam passed through him from side to side before lodging itself into the slab of concrete he was laying on. Nick had obvious broken bones at multiple points and was bleeding severely from multiple wounds.

It didn't look good for the fox…

Bogo heard the sirens of the emergency services coming and quickly ran for them.

Judy never heard them over the sound of her own sobs, but a few seconds later she was dragged away from Nick's body by her boss. Before she could ask what the hell he was doing and scream to let her go, she saw paramedics and firefighter surround her mate's body. The paramedic quickly took Nick's vitals and nodded at the firefighters. They then took a circular blade and proceeded to cut the bar that was poking out of his chest, making sure to at least leave a grip. The medical team held Nick's body as the firefighters then cut the bar under him to separate him from the slab that was anchoring him down.

Civilians were now gathered on the other side of the road. They watched, some of them even recording with their phones, the medical team carrying the practically dead fox on a stretcher. Nick was laid on his side, unlike the usual procedure, since the bar still poked out from his chest and back. Putting any pressure on it could be disastrous for the unconscious fox.

Wing C was thankfully empty most of the time. The only room that was frequently used was the investigation office and there were only two mammals at a time there at most. That meant that the whole attention of the medics was focused solely on Nick.

They quickly carried him to the waiting ambulance. Judy forced herself out from Bogo's tight grip and dashed for them. She was about to hop into the back of the ambulance before she was stopped by one of the paramedics.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, where are you going bunny?"

"I'm not leaving Nick's side okay! I'm getting in, that you want it or not."

"I'm sorry, but we can't have you in there."

"We're wasting time! Just let me enter."

"Let her in!" Came the strong voice from Bogo. "Trust me, it's not worth fighting."

The medic looked at the Buffalo for a moment before stepping aside. He figured that if the chief of police had ordered him to let her he wouldn't get too much in trouble.

"Don't be in the way."

Judy promised herself she wouldn't be. The last thing she wanted was to be a strain on Nick's chances of survival.

He closed the doors behind her and gave the go ahead to the driver.

The medic grabbed a breathing mask for canines and strapped it on Nick's muzzle. She could see steam condense on the transparent plastic, a reassuring sign he was still alive. He then took a syringe and injected whatever it held into Nick's arm.

Judy silently watched the ocelot working on Nick. He started by cutting his already torn uniform with a pair of scissors to examine his chest. He stated everything he saw to the driver as if he was giving an oral report.

"Looks like we have two… No three broken ribs at least, maybe more." He looked to one of the monitors that hung on the wall close to him. "His breathing is uneven. I think one of the ribs might have punctured one of his lungs."

Because of the way Nick was laid on his side, Judy was only able to see his back. Her gaze focused onto the freshly cut bit of metal that was coming out from it. She felt her hot tears continue to roll down her cheeks at a steady rate. The reality and precariousness of Nick's situation almost sent her into a panic attack while she watched the mammal she loved hang on the edge of death powerlessly.

"He's losing a lot of blood from his chest wound. He surely has severe internal bleeding with that… MIKE WE NEED TO HURRY OR THE BLOOD WILL REACH HIS LUNG. HE'S GOING TO DROWN SOON."

"We're almost there, hold on."

"He's going into hypovolemic shock. We need to get the rod out from him as fast as we can and stop the bleeding. He's going to have organ failures soon."

With that the ocelot looked at the monitor again.

"His pressure is falling. Mike, he won't last until we get to ER at this rate!"

"I'm driving as fast as I safely can."

"We don't have time for safety! Drive as fast as you can!"

The medic looked around as if searching for the answer.

"Fuck me… MIKE I'M TRYING SOMETHING!"

The ocelot grabbed one end of the steel rod with both paws and twisted it. A repulsing sound came out from Nick's chest and made Judy shudder.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"I'm twisting his tissues in the hope it will make a better seal. I probably ground up his intestines in the process though. The damage will be worse but hopefully we'll have more time."

He looked back at the monitor.

"40… 35… Fuck, it slowed but not enough. We're going to lose him if we don't stop the bleeding!"

"ETA in thirty seconds!"

"FASTER DAMN IT!"

As soon as the ambulance came to a halt, the paramedic rushed out the back door with Nick. A waiting ER team immediately helped him carry the fox in the stretcher. Judy followed in their paw steps as they talked in medical terms she could not understand.

"He got hit in the guts." Said one of the doctors. "We need to close his intestines otherwise they are going to completely spill out in him."

"My best guess is that his left common Iliac artery is open."

"He won't last a minute if that's the case!"

"Then we have a minute to patch him up."

"First thing is we need to remove that rod."

They passed a double door that lead to the operation room. Judy tried to follow them but was stopped by a large paw she recognized belonged to the paramedic.

"I'm sorry but you're not going further. You would be a weight more than anything else."

She wanted to protest, wanted to scream at him to get out of her way, but she knew he was right.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Not understanding, Judy looked down at herself. For the first time, she realized that she was drenched in Nick's blood. Her paws were absolutely covered in crimson red.

She didn't answer but let a nurse push her along towards one of the staff's bathroom. She helped her clean her fur and told her she might want to go home to get new clothes. The one she wore were ripped and bloody. Of course, Judy refused and said that she would stay here until Nick was better.

…

The surgeon didn't wait after formalities before he grabbed the rod with a large plier.

"Prepare for trauma."

His team nodded and he swiftly pulled out the rod while doctors hold the fox's body.

"Good lord!" He said when he looked at the extent of the damage.

…

Judy was walking back and forth in the waiting room. She hated this. She was always so used to having some length of control over the situation but right now she was helpless. She knew next to nothing about medical procedures but you needn't be a doctor to tell that Nick had suffered from severe injuries. She hated even more that whomever she asked would refuse or be unable to give her news from the operation room.

…

The chief surgeon, a beaver, had both his paw in the entry wound.

"I need a bigger entry now!"

One of the surgeons moved in with a scalpel in her paw.

"Sir, your paws…"

"We don't have time for this, just open him."

She carefully proceeded to cut an entry while avoiding to jab at the working surgeon's paw.

"Clamps!"

He was handed clamps which he used to seal the artery.

"Pressure?"

"Still dropping."

"Damn it!"

…

How long had it been? It felt like she had been waiting for news for days now. Judy's legs felt sore but she didn't stop pacing.

"Judy!"

She turned to meet the familiar voice. Clawhauser came running towards her at the best of his ability. He hunched over, putting his paws on his knees, as he panted heavily.

"Bogo... told me... about Nick… huff… I… am so… sorry."

"Don't say that! Don't you dare say you're sorry, okay! Nick is going to be fine, you hear me!" She all but screamed.

"J-Judy…"

"No Ben, you don't understand! He's going to be fine, I know it. You don't know him like I do, he's going to be fine. He has to be."

She kept repeating the last part to herself more than to anyone else. Her ears were droopy and her shoulders hunched down. Seeing this, Clawhauser pulled her into a tight hug and she began crying.

"Shhh, hey it's going to be okay."

…

"Shit, he's a mess."

The surgeon was using a tube to suck out the blood that had pooled inside the fox's body.

"The intestines are shredded at multiple places. It's going to be a nightmare to put back together. How is it looking over there?"

A second team of surgeon was operating simultaneously on Nick's upper chest.

"It's as we feared. One of his broken ribs perforated his right lung. It's minor but it's still going to need patching. Right now, we're just trying to keep it clean."

beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

Everyone turned to the heart rate monitor, which showed a flat line.

"We're losing him!"

A nurse grabbed the defibrillator while another adjusted the settings.

"Clear!"

She brought the two plates on Nick's chest which convulsed at the discharge. A spurt of blood suddenly sprayed into the cavity the surgeon had been previously cleaning.

"WHAT THE HELL! We still have a hemorrhage somewhere."

The surgeon went back in and started looking for the new leak.

…

Three hours, forty-seven minutes and counting… Nick had been in the operation room for almost four hours now…

And for those four hours, Judy sat in the waiting room without getting any news. All the energy she had had been drained by the constant worry. She now sat on a chair, head resting against Clawhauser who gave her reassuring comments from time to time. The room was now filled with co-workers who either looked at the ground or at her with pity. Even Bogo was here but he had been on the phone in a corner of the room for the previous hour.

Judy felt something in her pocket vibrate. She had no envy to talk to anyone right now so she pulled out the phone to decline the call. Only, she stopped when she saw the photo of her parents smiling adorning the screen.

Chances were that they had heard the news by now and wanted to check on her. While she wasn't too keen on talking with them right now about what was happening, she knew that they must have been worried sick about her.

She pressed the green button and the photo was replaced by a video of her parents. They didn't wear the happy smile of the picture but instead a concerned and panicked look.

"Oh, thank God. Sweetie, are you okay?" Asked her mother.

"The explosion is all over the news." Her father added.

She wanted to say she was fine. She wanted to reassure them she hadn't been hurt. Instead she broke out in tears.

"Honey what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head.

"I-It's Ni-ick… He's hurt…"

Hurt was an understatement but it was the only thing her brain could come up with right now.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I know your good friends with your partner…"

Her words failed her. Bonnie didn't know what to say to make her daughter feel any better.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not… Not really. I'm k-kind of tired… sorry mom."

"It’s okay honey, we'll let you be. You call us if you need anything or if you simply want to talk."

Judy ended the phone call not without saying one last goodbye to her parents and telling them she loved them. She then crashed her head back onto the fat cheetah and started crying anew.

…

"NO, NO, NO, NO! WE'RE LOSING HIM"

…

It had been over five hours now. Most of the other officers had gone home now to reassure their own families. The only ones that remained were her, Clawhauser, Bogo, Wolford and a couple of their close friends.

Judy didn't know what time it was but she knew her eyelids began to feel heavy. She would close her eyes for just little moment before her head started falling of Clawhauser's shoulder and she would yank it back.

"For… Officer Nicholas P. Wilde.

Everyone turned their heads toward the voice. The doctor, a female stoat, called them. They all rushed towards her, eager for news. Judy's foot was twitching furiously with anticipation and annoyance.

"So, how is he? How is Nick doing?"

The doctor looked at her with sorry eyes.

"He is alive and stable but…"

Judy didn't even realize she was holding her breath.

"Mr. Wilde suffered from severe neural damage. He is currently in a coma and we don't know when or if he'll wake up."

That was it for Judy. She felt her legs give up as the words rang through her head. Clawhauser managed to catch the bunny just in time before she hit the floor. She wasn't unconscious, she just didn't have the energy to stand. She felt like crying but no tears came, not anymore. Instead she just kept staring at the horizon.

She completely zoned out so she didn't notice Clawhauser carrying her back to the chairs. It took a moment before she snapped back. Her co-workers and friend that had stayed were all surrounding her. The only one that was not there was Bogo who was still discussing with the doctor.

They looked at her with pitying eyes but she didn't need their pity. No. What she needed right now was Nick, HER Nick and she was sure as hell going to get him. Judy Hopps doesn't just give up. She never knew when to stop and a little explosion was certainly not going to stop her or Nick for that matter.

She hopped off Ben's lap and headed for the female stoat. Her colleagues called out to her, asking what she was doing but she refused to respond. Her paws were balled up and her muscles were tensed. She planted herself in between Bogo and the doctor.

"I want to see him."

"It might not be the best idea to…"

"I don't care, I want to see him."

The doctor looked up at the chief who nodded in turn.

"I have to warn you it might be… a little disconcerting."

"I can handle it." She said in a matter-o-fact.

The doctor simply shrugged and motioned her to follow.

Judy expected that she would lead her to the usual floor where most of the patients were housed but instead they passed by the small double door she was denied entry earlier. The doctor disregarded the "employee only" sign and led her down the corridor. Judy followed her with a determined step into the section labeled intensive care.

"Next one on the right." Said the stoat.

Judy carefully approached the window that had a view into the room, her determination now faded.

What she saw on the other side broke her heart…

She tried to repress the sob that climbed up her throat but failed.

Nick was laid in a bed, hooked to a multitude of machines. A large tube went down his throat to help him breath. There was still a hole open in his chest but it was framed by medical equipment. Tubes came out of the hole and went into a large machine whose purpose escaped her. She noticed patches of fur missing where they had made stitches.

"We had to remove one of his kidneys, as well as a good portion of his intestines. He had 5 broken ribs, one of which perforated one of his lungs."

"Oh Nick…" Judy whispered, her paw pressed against the glass.

"The surgeon said it was one of the most complicated cases of his career. He died two times on the operation table in the five hours he was on it. We managed to reanimate him both times. We still need to make a muscle transplant to fill the entry hole and we're going to make him casts for his arms and legs tomorrow."

Judy remained silent. She almost didn't hear the doctor speak again as she was so focused on the fox she loved being on the verge of death.

"You are Officer Hopps are you not?"

"Hu? Oh, eh, yeah."

"You were the one on his emergency contact list, but I don't believe you are family."

"No, no we're not."

"Do you know if he has any family members we could contact?"

"No not anymore. Why?"

"Well…" The doctor began, looking apologetic. "In this situation it would be to his family to decide to keep him plugged or… let him go."

Judy felt a knot form in her guts. To think the situation was bad enough for this to even be a question made her heart ache.

**~If there is a God, greater force or anything listening, please bring me Nick back…**

…

Bogo walked down the hall of the courthouse, his hoofstep echoing against the walls.

"Chief Bogo!"

The buffalo turned to see the mayor. The old stallion made his way towards him. He too had to be present for the hearing.

They shook hoofs and Bogo put on his best smile even though he felt like doing anything but smiling right now.

"It's good to finally have closure isn't it?" Said the horse.

"I doubt what IA found will bring closure to everyone…"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is it. I know it's short and I know you want to know if Nick is going to be all right. But for that, you'll have to wait. Until then what you can do is leave comments. It helps me going when you guys tell me what you think of the story. Favorite/kudos and follows are also always appreciated of course. See you next time.


	21. Bedside reading

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another small chapter for you guys. As I said in the previous one, I'm making chapters shorter for a little while but they should go back to the usual format at one point. Other than that, just enjoy…

"How are your officers doing?"

The horse looked to his right at the buffalo while they walked along sides.

"Most of them have been transferred to other buildings while the renovations are underway. Some are still able to work at precinct one without getting in the way of the workers and some of them have been put on paid leave."

"That's good to know but I was actually wondering about two officers in particular."

"Hopps and Wilde?"

Bogo didn't need to ask. He knew exactly what the mayor meant but he still wanted to confirm it. Which he did when he nodded.

"They… They've seen better days. Wilde's situation has gotten better but it's still far from ideal. The whole thing has taken a toll on Hopps to I'm afraid."

The mayor looked down, not having anything good to say.

"Shall we go in?" He asked, pointing his hoof towards where the hearing was held.

"Not just yet, I'm still waiting on someone."

"I'M HERE CHIEF!"

Clawhauser came running to a halt in front of them. He put his paws on his knees to recover his breath.

"So… Sorry I… was getting some donuts."

...

Judy sat next to Nick's bed like she did every day. Since someone had decided to blow up her workplace, Bogo had put her and many others on paid leave. That meant that she had a lot of time to herself and she spent it all watching over him.

In the weak that had passed since the explosion, Nick's state had improved even though he was still in a coma. They had moved him from intensive care to a normal room which allowed Judy to visit him daily.

She looked up from the book she was reading to look at him. She had promised herself she'd spend as much time by his bedside as she physically could. She had even started to learn the name of the nurses who took care of him.

Nick looked like he was peacefully sleeping. Too peacefully for Judy's taste. She would have liked to see his ears flicker from time to time, or his eyelids twitch. Instead the only thing that assured her he was still alive was the rhythmic beeping of the heart rate monitor.

She passed her paw on the side of his head, gently stroking his cheek. She was happy to see that the fur on top of his head, which had been cut to make stitches, was starting to grow back. She much preferred him with his orange-y coat. Most of his fur was being hidden behind casts though so she couldn't see how the rest of the shaved spot were faring.

She leaned in and kissed his ear. She looked at him, hoping he would open his eyes and look back at her. When it didn't happen, she wore a sad smile.

"I went and visited that place you liked so much yesterday." She spoke softly to him while she continued to caress the side of his face. "It's nice, I like it a lot. I would love to move in there with you."

She had read somewhere that hearing the voice of loved ones or family could help a patient get out of coma. When she had asked about it to the stoat who oversaw Nick, she replied with a timid answer. The studies had not been confirmed and it was obvious she didn't believe in them but she still told her that it could potentially work. Judy was sure she had only said it to give her hope but she didn't care. She would stack as much odds on Nick's side as she could, no matter what. It's not like talking to him was doing any harm.

"If you wake up now, I'll even let you choose the color of the paint and on what side of the bed you want to sleep in..."

She didn't expect an answer but it still saddened her when he didn't reply. She gave him another soft kiss and nestled her head against his.

"Too bad…" She whispered. "I get to choose."

She rested like this and closed her eyes. She took in his smell that mixed with the sanitized one of the hospital. Given a little bit more time she probably would have fallen asleep but she heard pawsteps coming. She quickly straightened up in time for a nurse to enter the room.

"Hey Roxy!" She greeted the nurse with a smile.

"Hi Judy. How's the book?"

Judy looked down at the closed novel that sat on her lap.

"Not as good as the last two but I still like it."

With the time she spent by Nick's bed, Judy had the time to read through two and a half novels already.

"And you, how was your date with Steven?" She spoke to her like she would speak to a lifelong friend…

Maybe she did spend too much time here.

The ferret blushed and looked away shyly.

"We're going on a second date…"

Judy half squealed, half giggled.

"Yes girl! I'm so happy for you."

"What about you? Anything new going on?" She asked while she stepped closer to the array of IV bags that hung next to Nick's bed.

"No. There isn't much happening since I spend most of my time here."

"You know the hospital has your number, right? I promise you you'd be the first one we'd call if he woke up."

"I know but I want to be there when he does."

Roxy opened her mouth to say something but then decided against it. Judy knew what she thought. She already had that conversation with the doctor.

_"Miss Hopps, you need to consider the possibility that officer Wilde might never wake up…"_

She brushed the doctor's word out of her mind. She would never give up on Nick and she knew he would never give up on her.

Roxy finally changed the urine bag and then made her way to the still fox. She started moving his limbs around to make sure they wouldn't be too atrophied.

"You know, I'm not sure it's good for you to feed off the hospital's cafeteria so much. You could at least bring lunch; it would be better than whatever sorry excuse for food they serve."

"You have a grudge against the cafeteria?"

"I'm surprised you don't." She lifted Nick to change how he laid. "With the number of midday shifts I had, I can't even support the smell of the food."

Judy snorted at her.

"You might be going a bit hard at it no?"

"Not a bit. I have a lot to do so I need to go. See you around Judy."

"Bye Roxy."

The ferret left her alone once again in the room. She had managed to make her smile which was a victory for her in itself.

"She's nice." She said out loud before turning to Nick again.

His lack of response made her smile fade away. She nestled herself back against him like she was before Roxy arrived. She closed her eyes and let herself be lulled by the regular sound of the breathing machine.

…

"Hey bunny!"

Judy squirmed at the sound of the deep voice but didn't open her eyes.

"Yo, Cottontail! Wake up!"

This time she grudgingly looked around for the source of the annoyance. When she didn't find it, she decided to close her eyes again. But before she could do that, she was interrupted again.

"Down here fluff head."

She looked down to see a fennec fox dressed in bowling clothes.

"Oh hey Finnick!" She said trying to stretch the sleep away. "Sorry I didn't sleep much last night."

"How long have you been here?"

"Since visiting hours started."

"When was that?"

"10:00 am."

"It's 7:30."

"I know, they'll kick me out in thirty minutes when it ends."

"So you've been here all day?"

"All day, every day."

"You're crazy bunny."

"Maybe but I'm surprised I didn't see you visit earlier."

"I would have but I was occupied by other stuff."

"Stuff like what?"

"I really can't tell you since you're with the fuzz."

She looked at the cardboard square he held in his paw, choosing to ignore his previous comment.

"You brought a card?"

"Yeah, well, it's not like I could strike an interesting conversation with him, could I?"

Judy took the card and opened it. It simply said: "Wake up dumb-dumb, you owe me money".

"How nice."

"Thanks."

"You didn't sign it."

"You think he's going to think it's from anyone else?"

"Fair enough."

She handed the card back to him.

"You can put it with the others over there."

She pointed to the table on the other side of the bed. On it sat a wide range of cards and flowers their co-workers brought.

"I hope they didn't bring bees in. Nick hates those bugs."

"Really?"

"Yeah. A hive fell right on his fucking head when he was a kit. He never really beat his fear after that."

Silence fell into the room as the subject of conversation ended and they were left with no other. After an awkward silence, Finnick looked up at the bunny.

"You know he loves you, right?"

Judy froze at the words. How did Finnick know? Had Nick told him or did he figure it out?

"From your reaction, I guess not. I figured you'd wanna know in case that… You get it."

Judy was at a loss. She didn't know what to say or if to say anything at all. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to come up with something. Emotions flooded her and instead of saying something she simply started to cry.

"Ah no please don't do that. Don't… Urghhh!"

Finnick rolled his eyes and made his way over to the crying bunny.

"There, there…" He said while patting her back with little enthusiasm.

Judy willed herself to stop crying so she could look at the small fox.

"I… Sob… I know."

Finnick looked at her confused.

"The… The day before… We told each other…"

"We?"

She turned her gaze to the bigger fox who laid still on the bed. She looked at him with a tender and sad look.

"I love him Finn…" she caressed Nick's cheek like she had done earlier. ”I love him so much and he only got to know it for a day."

"Better a day than never…"

She looked back at him with a vexed expression.

"Why does everyone talks like there is no chance he'll ever wake up." She said dryly. It was more of an accusation than a question.

"Because he might not. It's not easy for me either but we have to accept that it is a possibility."

She looked down to the floor. After a moment had passed, Finnick spoke up again.

"How did you get here?"

She was thrown off by the casual question.

"By bus. why?"

"Visiting hours is nearly over. I'll give you a lift."

She nodded before turning back to Nick. She kissed his forehead, not caring that Finnick was watching. She then followed him out of the room, glancing from time to time at the mammal she loved. They made their way to the parking where the less than usual van stood.

"So, we're off to?" Asked the fennec once they were both in the van.

"Nick's place."

"Damn, that was fast!"

"It's not like that. My place got flooded so he was housing me for a while."

"Right whatever you say bunny."

Judy glared at him, even though they had been talking about getting a place together already.

"How did you know by the way?"

"Know what?"

"About Nick and I."

"Kind of obvious really. The way he talked about you, what he said in his texts. That and the fact that you could convince him to become a fucking cop! I'm surprised people don't see it to be honest. If I were one of your colleagues I would have started a betting pool."

"Well I'm glad that didn't happen. We're not allowed to run bets at the office anyways."

"Yeah and I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to be able to become a cop when you've been evading your taxes for the past two decades."

Judy laughed and rolled her eyes playfully.

The rest of the ride was passed either in silence or doing small talk just to avoid the awkwardness or the grim situation.

Finnick dropped her off in front of the apartment complex. Before she got out, Judy turned to him.

"Thank you Finn. It's nice to have someone to speak to."

"You're welcome officer toot-toot but you're getting too sappy now. I have to go."

She chuckled.

"Alright big guy. See you another time."

Finnick rolled his eyes at the "big guy" joke while Judy got out. He then put his glasses back on and turned the volume to max before driving off.

…

The next day, when Judy came back from the hospital, there was a package on the doorstep. On it was a memo written "for bedside reading". She picked it up and walked in the apartment before opening it up. She blushed deeply when it revealed a book titled "The pleasures of inter-species coitus".

"That fox doesn't need to sign his cards, does he?"

There was no way she would be reading this at the hospital… She could however read it here…

She bit her lower lip and looked at the book hesitantly. She then went straight for the bedroom and closed the door...

She doubted she would get much sleep tonight…

…

Bogo had brought Clawhauser along to serve as a temporary secretary. It was about time the cheetah did something productive anyway.

"Clawhauser, you can't bring food to a hearing."

"What!? But what are you supposed to do?"

"You're supposed to listen and take notes, it's a hearing. Don't forget about the taking notes part, I don't want you to just sit back and enjoy the show."

"Yes chief…" Said the cat with a pout.

"Come on, let's go."

The three mammals walked inside the room. The mayor went his way to sit in his assigned seat while Bogo and Clawhauser sat next to each other behind a table.

"All rise!" Shouted a camel.

The gathered crowd raised from their seat to greet the three officials that seated over the hearing. While not judge, they were high ranking member of internal affairs and they were the ones who would judge if the findings of the case would be significant enough to move to the supreme court. Funny enough, they were all kangaroos…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you guys forget that I feed off the souls and energy of comment, favorite/kudos and follows...


	22. The beauty and the sleeping fox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait everyone but I am in the middle of final exams so I didn't have much time to write. This chapter is REALLY short, but it's the best I could do. Do note also that I have an important message in the A/N at the end of the story.

The three kangaroos silently took their place in front of the gathered crowd. Once they were seated, the standing mammals sat themselves.

"Are we ready to begin?" Asked the kangaroo in the middle.

"Not yet sir. The lead inspector has yet to arrive."

At that very moment the door to the room burst opened.

"I am very sorry but I'm here now. We may begin."

The room turned to see the mammal that spoke up.

...

"Zootopia's police department has confirmed to us today that the office of internal affairs has started investigating the explosion that destroyed a wing of precinct number one two weeks ago. I'm joined today by terrorism specialist Walter Woolton. Walter welcome to the show."

The moose turned to face the sheep.

"Thank you for having me here Peter."

"The pleasure is mine. So, tell me, why is internal affairs taking charge of the investigation? Wouldn't it normally be the job of homeland security?"

"Normally yes. Terrorist attacks, as the explosion of two weeks ago has been classified, are the jurisdiction of homeland. However, the epicenter of the explosion came from a restricted area of the precinct itself which means that only a personnel member could have placed it there. In that case, internal affairs get the responsibility. I do believe however that homeland has consultants working with internal affairs."

"So you are telling me this was an inside job?"

"It seems that it's what the officials believe."

"Interesting. What reasons an employee of the ZPD could have for doing such a thing?"

"It's hard to say. A lot of people have grudges against the police force but those mammals are not the kind to be working in it. Moreover, the explosion destroyed a particularly empty area of the building."

"Yes, I believe there was only one casualty?"

Judy took the remote and turned the TV off. The doctors had operated on Nick to check on his intestines. They had also used the occasion to move him to another room for reasons she didn't know. The good thing was that it had a TV and a bigger bed.

She turned to look at him. He laid still next to her in the way that had grown accustomed to her for the past two weeks.

She probably shouldn't be laying in the hospital bed next to him, but bed was big enough and she was relatively small. She also made sure to not apply pressure on anything that might be still recovering. Plus, she doubted that the nurses would snitch on her.

Right now, she was gently pressed against his side, her head resting on his shoulder. She leaned into his ear.

"The final between the Snows and the Boogies has been pushed back. Maybe we'll still be able to watch it together." She whispered softly like if she was afraid of being heard. "Tell you what… If the Snows win, you'll have to wake up and tell me you love me. If you win, I'll do whatever you want."

She traced her paws through the soft fur of his neck. The fox didn't react.

"I'm going to take the silence as a yes."

She kissed his cheek and nestled back against him. Even with sleepless nights she had spent reading Finnick's gift, Judy didn't feel tired at all. The reason she snuggled against him in his oversized hospital bed, wasn't because she was tired but because she felt the need for physical closeness. What she wouldn't give to feel him wrap her up in his arms, lay his head atop of hers and whisper to her that everything was going to be okay. She wanted him to help her stay strong but she had to be strong for him.

"When you wake up I promise you I'll give you the ride of your life." She whispered to him with a mischievous smile.

If only things could be like in those kit movies. All she had to do would be to kiss him and he would wake up to the love of his life.

She let out a long envious sighed.

If only… Although it would be quite hard to kiss him with that tube coming out of his mouth.

"Judy?"

Her ears perked up at the sound of someone calling her name. Sadly, it didn't come from the fox that laid next to her but rather from the cheetah that stood in the door frame.

She quickly pulled away from Nick to rest in a less compromising way.

"Oh... hey Ben! These beds are really comfortable; I wouldn't have guessed it…" She said nervously.

Clawhauser looked at her with a sad pout and pitying eyes. Before she could say anything more, he walked to her, picked her up and brought her into a hug. His big arms trapping her against him.

"Ben… Ben I can't breathe!"

"Oh sorry!"

He put her down onto the floor.

"What was that for?"

"You needed it…"

She kind of did…

"You know, when I'm feeling down I usually eat and listen to gazelle."

"I'm pretty sure that's only a you thing."

"Well you know that if you need someone to talk to I'm here for you."

"Thanks Ben."

"You know… Let's say if you had a secret to share, you could share it with me…"

"Hmmm… Okay…"

"Like something new that happened recently…"

"Clawhauser are you okay? You're acting weird?"

"What?! Weird, me? No, you're acting weird." He said defensively.

Judy looked at him with squinted eyes. The large cat seemed to wither away under the inquisitive glare. Eager to change subject, he spoke up.

"I… Hum… I had bought a box of chocolate for you but… Well I had to test them to make sure they were good chocolate and not just some cheap ones… And of course, having a scientific mind I needed to repeat the tests…"

"You ate all the chocolate, didn't you?"

"Sorry."

"It's okay, chocolate isn't good for rabbits anyway."

"Wait, have you never eaten chocolate!?"

"I did taste a small chunk once when I was young but otherwise no."

Clawhauser's paw came to his mouth as he gasped in shock.

"Oh, you poor thing!"

Judy rolled her eyes at the melodramatic cat.

"It's nice of you to visit Nick."

"Bunny, it's the least I could do. It's not like if I came every day and let's say… stayed by his side all the time until the hospital kicks me out because I tried to hide in his room to spend even more time by him…"

Judy's eyes widened.

"How do you know about that?"

"The hospital called Bogo after they found you. That's part of the reason I'm here. I want to give you a heads up. Bogo will be coming later today."

Judy's ears drooped as panicked ceased her.

"Oh, no, no, no…this is bad!"

"Relax. I don't think he wants to scream your head off. I just think he's worried."

"Worried?"

"Yes, we all are. You've been staying here almost all day for the past two weeks and now you want to spend even more time! We're all worried about you."

"It's not me you should be worried about…" she said while turning back to look at Nick.

Clawhauser sighed.

"I know but…"

"What if he doesn't wake up?" She cut him. "What if he doesn't ever wake up?"

Until now Judy had dismissed the idea. She couldn't believe he would never come back. But... Recently, doubt had started to creep in the back of her head. She tried to sweep it away, to not think about it but it was still there. She hated herself for ever doubting him but it didn't change the fact that fear was punching her guts.

"What am I supposed to do then? Am I supposed to just move on?"

"Of course not."

"Then what Ben? What do I do if he stays like this? Not dead but not quite alive either. I can't leave him; I can't abandon him, never."

She let the question sink in while she approached her sleeping mate and brushed her paw through his fur at that place she had grown so fond of.

"If I can't leave him then the only thing I can do is stay by him." She spoke more softly.

"I'm sorry…" Clawhauser looked down.

Judy turned to face him again.

"Don't be. You can't be accounted for any part of this. I don't want you to be sorry or feel guilty about anything Ben I just want you to understand."

He looked down to his foots, not knowing what to say.

Clawhauser didn't stay long after that. It was hard to make the small talk not awkward after that conversation. He placed new flowers by Nick's bedside and left only a few minutes later. Judy was left alone in the room once again. She didn't want to watch more TV so instead she started to read absentmindedly. She didn't lie next to Nick this time since she knew Bogo would come by visit. Somehow, she didn't see the time fly by because when a knock on the door took her out of her reverie, she had apparently read 23 pages without remembering anything of them.

She looked up to see Bogo knocking on the opened door. Judy closed the book and waited for the chief to speak.

"You know why I'm here…"

"Clawhauser told me."

"Of course he did… Listen Hopps…"

"Am I in trouble?"

"No."

"Then, with all due respect, I don't see how what I do in my free time is any of your concerns."

Bogo chose to ignore the borderline insubordinate tone and pressed on.

"It does become my problem when you start doing something illegal. The hospital could have pressed charges for trespassing, luckily for you they did not."

Judy looked down, ashamed of herself. It was never her kind to do stuff like that, even when she was just a kit.

"I've decided to transfer you to Sahara Square's district…"

She looked back up at him, slightly shocked.

"They're making you a place there, you'll start next week. Don't worry, it's only temporary. You're still part of precinct one but until the repairs are done, you'll be working from Sahara Square."

"But chief…"

"No, there is no 'but chief'. In one week, you're back to work and you had better have that optimism of yours. I know losing your partner is hard but I can't have both of my best officers be unable to work."

Judy pouted in defeat. She knew she couldn't win that fight. It still made her feel sick though. Not only did she feel betrayed but she was forced to abandon Nick. At least that's how she saw it.

"You will be working little jobs here and there. Anything we have to occupy you."

"What about the case?"

"The case doesn't belong to us anymore. It's IA's now."

Silence…

"I'm sorry Hopps, but I'm doing this for your own good."

When Judy didn't respond and instead looked away, he took it as a sign to leave. He knew she was accepting his order but she wasn't pleased to be reassigned away. Hopps not wanting to go back to work, he never thought he would see that day.

She waited for Bogo to leave the room and walk away. She waited for him to be gone before she let the overworked dam of emotions break. As soon as she knew he was far enough, she began crying. They were uncontrolled tears, the kind you would see at a funeral because it was exactly how it felt. Bogo had just given her the sentence and forced her to abandon Nick and now it was as if because of that he was already dead. She scrambled up onto the bed and buried her face into his chest. She tried to muffle her cries into him, being careful to not put pressure on any still recovering parts.

She slowly calmed herself and found the strength to look up at his face. She still had one week with him and was decided to take as much of it in as she could…

What are you supposed to do when you have only one week left with the mammal you love?

…

"We may begin."

The crowd turned to face the mammal. An enormous albino wolf that stood a head and a half higher than any other wolf Bogo had seen before. His perfectly white fur and red eyes gave him the allure of a hellhound, straight out of the gates of hell, on the lookout for its victim. He wore a malicious cold smile that could freeze a forest fire. His eyes bore into every mammal that stared at him mouth agape. Bogo was not the type to be easily impressed but a shiver ran down his spine when the wolf fixed his sights on him and his smile grew.

"Mr. Wolf if you could please take your seat so we can begin…"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right guys. I have decided to take a little break from this story. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning it I simply want to change decor. Therefore, I'm going to be starting a new story (much shorter than this one) soon. I want to make it a Christmas special and hope for it to be finished by the end of December. As soon as that is done I'll come back here. So be on the lookout for that story when it comes.
> 
>  
> 
> For those who are interested, the story will be a Victorian era au-ish. It’s a classic Christmas time Agatha Christie style murder mystery with WildeHopps in it (of course). Or at least it’s what it seems… The truth is that Clawhauser organised a murder-mystery party for the office and everyone is way too much into character. For those who miss Coon and Porkins, you’ll be happy to hear that I included them in the story, although it has absolutely no ties with this one. I still don’t know how I’m going to name the story so just be on the look out for stories from box_o_potatoes.
> 
> Until then let me know what you think by leaving a comment. You can also favorite/kudo or follow the story if you'd like. I swear I'll continue this story where it left off in no time.


	23. Wake up call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God, I am SO sorry! I was sure that I would have finished this chapter within a week of the new year. However, I got sick and that delayed the last chapter of Ten little mammals and therefore of this story. And there was also life, let's not forget about life and it’s strange habit of getting in the way of writing. And if that wasn’t enough my beta reader has gone MIA, so that delayed the chapter even longer.
> 
> To make it up to you, this chapter is quite an important one if I may say so myself. If you’re wondering why it’s important let me just say the chapter’s title is an hint...

 

Nick walked down the set of stairs that lead to the archives. He still couldn't believe someone had actually managed to hack into the ZPD’s database and delete all they had on Perry. Fortunately for them, they still had physical evidences stored in the precinct’s archive room. Hacking into the database was one thing, but actually breaking into the precinct and stealing evidences… They couldn’t have pulled it off surely. They would need to pass by a dozen of officers who would know that they shouldn’t be there. After that they needed to find the right evidence box, a thing that was already hard even if you knew how the evidences were classified and stored. Finally they would need to walk out of the precinct carrying a box full of crime sensitive objects. No they couldn’t have done it, which meant that they would still be able to lock that damn platypus up.

 

But Perry wasn’t stupid. He probably knew that even with his hacking trick the ZPD would still have enough on him to bring him to trial, which meant that his plan didn’t stop there. Nick reckoned he was probably making a run for it right now. It was logical; get the police to set him free for a while and the flee before they could catch him again. Nick had to hurry because the sooner he found the evidences, the sooner they would be able to go after him.

 

Nick looked through the rows of dusty boxes, searching for the one related to yesterday’s arrest. It didn’t took him long to find the box he was looking for since it simply laid on the ground, it’s content smashed and teared up.

 

“So they did get in.” He thought.

 

Of course they couldn’t have simply walked out of the building carrying an evidence box. Instead they tried to just get rid of them. It still didn’t explain how they got in in the first place though.

 

Nick kneeled down to grab the broken and teared up contents of the box. Whoever it was that tried to get rid of the evidences did a poor job because Nick could still make out a few of them. Judy’s carrot pen for example was still intact and containing Perry’s confession. He was sure Carrots would at least be happy that her favorite pen was intact. With a bit of work they might still be admissible in court which meant they still had a shot at locking Perry up. They only needed to…

 

Nick’s train of thought was stopped (more like abruptly derailed and turned into a flaming wreckage) when he noticed something peculiar hiding under the shelf. At first he thought it was an other evidence which got tossed under there before he actually pulled it out…

 

Then his blood froze…

 

Nick was no expert but it was quite clear to him that what lay in front of him was a bomb.

 

Either time slowed down or Nick freezed because he spent the next few seconds staring at it and letting his brain catch up. He needed to act and fast.

 

“Run!” Was the first thing that came to mind and so he did.

 

He ran away from the bomb and towards the exit as fast as he could. Then another idea came to him. The archives was the only room in the building not equipped with sprinkler in case of a fire. Having water spray down on sensitive objects and paper was as good as letting fire burn it up anyway. But in case a fire did start, the room was equipped with multiple fire shutters that would fragment the room and protect most of the evidences from the flame. These were no blast doors but they might shield the rest of the building from a part of the blast.

 

As Nick passed by the fire alarm, he reached out and pulled it down. The loud noise of the alarm started to blare in his sensitive ears. He could hear the metal noise of the fire shutters closing behind him. If they didn’t help much keeping the blast, at least the alarm would get the others to evacu…

 

Nick felt more than heard the blast. In fact he didn’t remember hearing anything at all. But the sudden and powerful force that blew him off the floor like a dried leaf was unmistakable. Nick felt the burning shockwave roast the fur of his back as he was propelled at dangerous speed towards the concrete wall.

 

The next moments were a blur. Nick could only remember being in the dark and the pain that he felt in his chest. The next thing he remembered after that was Judy. He could hear her voice calling out to him. He wanted to call back but was unable to. The the darkness was replaced by light. He saw the figure of a bunny standing above him and then he knew she was safe and that’s all he could ask for. He remembered trying to say that he loved her before the darkness swallowed him again…

 

* * *

 

Judy kept staring at the face of the sleeping fox in front of her. Like for the past three weeks it remained still, unmoving.

 

Today was Judy’s last day with Nick…

 

Not really but she was scheduled to be transferred to Sahara square’s precinct tomorrow. She hated it. It felt like she was forced to abandon him. She hated even more the fact that, despite herself, she was starting to doubt this would have a happy ending.

 

She got up and walked over to his bed. There she reached for him and started to rub the side of his face.

 

“Please…” She pleaded in a strangled voice. “Wake up… Please…”

 

Judy felt the hot drops of water roll down her cheeks. She had tried… She had tried so hard for the past three weeks to keep her tears in. She had tried to be strong because she knew that that was what Nick would expect of her. But now after three weeks and not the slightest glimpse of hope on the horizon, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

 

Judy was glad there was no one around to see her cry. She got on the bed and laid next to him, the only one she ever loved and the only one she ever would. She tried to muffle her cries by burying her face in the crest of his neck. She laid there sobbing against him for half an hour before she finally ran out of tears. She still felt like crying but her body was simply too exhausted to allow her. After that she simply tried to take as much of him in as she could.

 

A strange sort of calm washed over her and she found herself thinking about her situation, about Nick, about the future…

 

And then out of nowhere a memory came to her. She saw herself back in the police car with Nick at her side

 

_ “I was wondering why you never told your parents I was a fox.” _

 

She looked down at her phone. Her parent’s knew now about Nick but they didn’t know the extent of their relationship. If she was to never speak to him again it only felt right to admit to the world what he was to her, starting by her parents. He deserved it. He deserved so much more than just it but that was the best Judy could do for him.

 

She went through her contacts and called her parents on muzletime. The happy image of the both of them smiling appeared on her phone before quickly being replaced by the live video of her parents in the kitchen.

 

“Hey sweety! How is it… Jason stop that! Tell your sister your sorry now… How is it going?” Her mother’s familiar voice came through.

 

“Hey Jude the dude!”

 

Judy tried to put on the best fake smile she could. She obviously failed because her mother’s face immediately turned into a frown.

 

“Sweety what’s wrong?” She asked softly.

 

“It… It’s about Nick…”

 

“Your fox partner?” Asked her father.

 

“Yes I… I need to tell you guys something.”

 

Judy took in a deep breath and readied herself to make the jump.

 

“I… I am…”

 

Judy looked up to the figure of the sleeping fox to find strength. But she frowned when she thought she saw something peculiar.

 

And then it happened again…

 

Nick’s ear twitched.

 

And now that Judy looked at him she could see everything else. She saw his eyelids contract and relax and the way his nose was twitching. If she looked close enough she could even see the signs of his jaw clenching.

 

“What’s wrong honey?” Came the concerned voice of her father.

 

“I eh… I have to go. Call you guys later.”

 

She ended the call before her parents could respond and rushed to Nick’s side.

 

“Nick can you hear me? If you can hear me please wake up… I need you!”

 

* * *

 

Nick felt uneasy. All around him was darkness and even though he could run for miles in any direction without hitting anything, it felt very claustrophobic. But the thing that unnerved him the most was the feeling of not only being constantly watched, but also of being hunted.

 

He didn’t know by what he was being hunted but he could feel the weight of it’s predatory eyes on the back of his neck. Nick would run in a random direction for what felt like forever until he stopped when he thought he might have escaped the beast. But he would inevitably feel it get closer to him again, tracking him down without any effort and without ever resting.

 

But there were a few times of merciful peace. Sometimes, Nick could hear a voice and when he did it was like the beast coward in fear. Even though he couldn’t make out what the voice was saying or where it came from, Nick knew it was Judy. Those moments filled him with joy and a sense of safety. But those moments would never last and soon enough, Nick found himself to be running for his life again.

 

Things would go on that way until at one point he found himself to be lost. It made no sense considering there were no landmark and nothing to look at but endless darkness.

 

And yet he just knew he was lost…

 

Nick looked around trying to find his bearing. He suddenly heard a low growl and when he turned to the origin of the sound, he saw two sharp eyes glow in the darkness.

 

His first thought was to run but he found himself to be unable to move faster than a strolling pace. He watched in panic the predatory eyes slowly and casually crawl towards him as he was powerless to escape.

 

Just as he prepared for the inevitable, a light flooded the darkness. Nick was still unable to see anything around him but he at least knew it basked in a warm heavenly light. The beast seemed to wither and run away as if the light had burned him. And as Nick was wondering what was happening, he heard her again.

 

This time Judy’s voice was much clearer than before. He could hear her calling out to him. He felt the light get stronger while it felt like he had started hovering above the ground. The light was now blinding and Nick felt the source of it get closer…

 

* * *

 

Judy was barely able to stand still. After she had noticed the sign of life she had been eager to see for so long now, she had called to the nearest nurse. Doctors had then followed and they had sedated Nick so he wouldn’t wake up just yet. Judy had been confused as to why until the doctors had explained they wanted to remove Nick’s tubes before he properly woke up.

 

Now he laid peacefully in his bed once again and Judy was so nervous she could crawl up the walls. She was all too eager to finally be able to talk to him, to hug him, to kiss him…

 

She saw his eyelids flutter once more.

 

“Nick?” She asked holding her breath.

 

Nick’s eyes opened with difficulty before he slowly turned his head towards her.

 

“Hey…” He said in a rasped voice.

 

Judy actually let out a sob when she heard him. She quickly trapped him in a hug which earned a “humpf” out of him.

 

Nick tried to speak again but was unable to get something out other that an other rasp.

 

“Here.” said Judy while she brought a bottle of water to his lips.

 

He drank eagerly from it until a coughing fit made him stop.

 

“Thanks.” Nick said while closing his eyes.

 

Judy thought that he might nod back to sleep before he spoke again.

 

“What happened?”

 

“Someone set off a bomb in the precinct…”

 

“What!?”

 

Nick tried to sit up but winced in pain. Judy forced him to lay still while she brushed her paw through the fur of his head. The little sign of affection seemed to calm him. He turned to her and smiled at her, the affection he felt clear in his eyes.

 

“The explosion was in a more remote part of the building. You were the only one gravely injured…”

 

She looked down at her laps and fiddled with her paws.

 

“I… I thought for a moment that… I might lose you…”

 

“Hey.” He reached out for her, grabbing her arm gently. God had she missed his touch. “You’re not getting rid of me this easily. Better get used to having a smug fox following you around because I’m not leaving you.”

 

Judy smiled.

 

“I love you.”

 

“Love you too.”

 

Judy leaned in and placed a kiss on his lips. She tried to pull away but Nick kept her there and deepened the kiss. She eagerly returned the favor and opened her mouth to let his larger tongue slip through.

 

_ Knock knock _

 

Judy shot up, quickly pulling away from Nick. She looked at the open door which contained the stoat that had been Nick’s doctor for the past few weeks.

 

“Surprisingly enough Nick you smell fine for someone who hasn’t showered in three weeks.” Judy said, obviously trying to cover up why she was hunched over Nick like that.

 

“Wait what do you mean three weeks?”

 

“Hi Mr. Wilde My name is Alexa Stoatwart, I am your doctor.”

 

The stoat walked closer to the end of the bed before stopping in front of it.

 

“You are presently in zootopia central hospital. I must inform you that you have been in a coma for the past three weeks.”

 

“Three weeks…” Nick breathed out.

 

“You have undergone intensive surgery and you should take things easy for the coming months. I will go through what that entails when you are more rested but I have to ask you a few questions now.”

 

The doctor took out a flashlight and got closer to Nick.

 

“If you could please keep your eyes open.”

 

She shined the light in his eyes and watched the reaction before turning the light off.

 

“Can you tell me your mother’s first name?”

 

“Vivienne.”

 

She noded. And walked back to the end of the bed.

 

“Do you remember what you do for a living?”

 

A look of pride flashed through Nick’s eyes.

 

“Yes I can. I’m a police officer.” He said while smiling at Judy.

 

“Well there seem to be no lasting cognitive effect of your coma. If you ever feel confused or disorientated please contact the hospital.”

 

The doctor wrote something down on her notepad and then put it aside.

 

“Now Mr. Wilde. Have you noticed that I have been poking the underside of your feet since we started this conversation?”

 

Judy tilted her head and sure enough, she could see the doctor poking at his paws with her pen.

 

“N-No… What do you mean?”

 

“Officer Wilde I want you to close your eyes and pay attention.”

 

Nick did as he was told and waited for her to speak again.

 

“Can you tell me which digit I am pressing against?”

 

“N-No…” Nick’s breath was starting to get shorter as panicked started to take him. “I… I can’t feel anything…”

 

Nick opened his eyes and was now hyperventilating.

 

“Mr. Wilde, I need you to remain calm. Can you move your legs, paws or digits at all?”

 

Nick tired but nothing moved.

 

“Why can’t I move my legs? Why can’t I move my legs!”

 

“Mr. Wilde please you need to calm down.”

 

“Clam down! I don’t feel anything in my legs and you want me to calm down!”

 

“Nick look at me.”

 

Judy pulled herself next to him and reached for his muzzle. She forcefully turned his head and obliged him to look her in the eyes. Immediately is breathing seemed to slow.

 

“Everything is going to be okay Nick you hear me? It’s going to be fine.”

 

For a moment Nick managed to forget about the world as he lost himself in the loving purple eyes that looked at him.

 

“When you first came here we made brief x-ray scan once your situation was stabilized. One of them showed a small indent in your spinal cord at the level of the fifth lumbar. It isn’t completely severed so there might still be a chance for recovery but until we take more scans…” The stoat looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry to inform you Mr. Wilde that you are paralysed from the waist down…”

 

* * *

 

“Now Mr. Wolf if you could please take a seat so we can begin…” The kangaroo said.

 

Once the impressive wolf had sat down the kangaroo cleared his throat and continued.

 

“Mr. Zeke M. Wolf, you have been tasked to investigate the bombing of Zootopia’s precinct one with the help of Homeland security. Has your investigation come to fruition?”

 

“Yes your honor.”

 

“If you would please share your findings with the assembly…”

 

Wolf rose once again and looked to the crowd around him.

 

“After a thorough investigation, we have found that indeed two ZPD officers are responsible for the attack that plagued our city. After the discovery of many incriminating evidences, we have concluded that officer Judy Laverne Hopps and officer Nicholas Piberius Wilde are responsible of the attack.”

 

The room exploded in shouts…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TAM TAM TAMMM!!! If won't keep you on the edge until the next chapter comes out, I don’t know what will. I’ll try to update sooner but at this point I don’t want to make promises since they’re only going to get broken.
> 
> So now that I don’t have a beta reader anymore The future chapters might have a bit more of typos. If any of you are interested in being my beta just PM me… Please I really need someone to proofread this, oh God….
> 
> Otherwise, you can show your support by leaving a comment or by clicking favorite/kudo or follow.


	24. Stretching your legs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you I would upload faster this time. My beta problem has been dealt with and typos mercilessly slain. In celebration of this glorious victory against the tyranny of grammatical mistakes, I present you this short but sweet chapter.
> 
> Enjoy...

"SILENCE!"

The scream of the kangaroo was ignored as shouts and fiery arguments were heard across the room.

"I SAID  **SILENCE**!!!"

This time the noises died down. Once everybody sat down and went quiet the same kangaroo looked to the white canine.

"Mr. Wolf you do understand that these are severe accusations you are making?"

"Yes, I understand."

"This is ridiculous!" Exclaimed Bogo while rising from his seat.

The kangaroos sent him a glare that told him to behave.

"We already know the attack was an inside job due to it's nature. Why does the fact that officer Hopps and officer Wilde were involved make our investigation any less credible than if it had been any other officers?"

"With all due respect…" Said Bogo, trying to keep himself in check despite his annoyance. "Why would they do this? Hell, officer Wilde was paralyzed due to the explosion. He is still trying to recover right now."

The albino wolf didn't seem fazed by this for a second. In fact Bogo would bet he had been ready to answer that question since the moment he walked in here.

"It has been known for makeshift bombs to detonate randomly. We believe that the explosion was meant to happen later when officer Wilde and officer Hopps would have been at a safe range, but errors in craftsmanship would have caused the bomb to detonate not long after it was armed, when officer Wilde was still close by."

"Fine whatever but you still have nothing actually pointing to them."

Zeke gave the chief a toothy smile that sent a shiver down his spine…

* * *

Nick counted the tiles of the ceiling for what must have been the hundredth time as he laid in the hospital bed.

It's not really like he could do anything else…

Not long after they had brought him the news, the doctors had conducted a more thorough scan of his lower back. The doctor had confirmed that there was indeed a chance for him to recover.

"A chance…" He scoffed.

It had been one week since he woke up, and four days since he had started rehab and still, he felt like he had made no progress what so ever. He had started to grow frustrated at his inability to do anything by himself. The only moments of grace he had in the past week were when Judy was able to come visit him, something she would do whenever she had the time.

But right now Judy was at work in Sahara square, and Nick was left to count the tiles of the ceiling in his adult diapers.

"You called for a nurse?"

"I need to go to the toilet." Said Nick flatly without bothering to look at the nurse.

He waited a bit, still looking at the ceiling, before he felt the larger paws of the panther nurse lift him from his hospital bed. She carried him over to the toilets before she put him down on the bowl. She moved to lift his hospital gown before he stopped her.

"I'm fine. I can do it on my own."

"Mr. Wilde, are you sure? There is no shame in…"

"I swear, I'm fine. If you could just… Give me a bit of privacy."

The nurse looked at him pensively for a moment before nodding.

"I will be just outside the door if you need help."

With that she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Nick never realized how hard life was for someone who was paralyzed. Even the most mundane of task became a feat to do on your own. You became dependent of others, and Nick had never liked the idea of requiring someone's help.

Using the toilet was easy, the problem actually came when it was time to clean himself. How are you supposed to wipe yourself when you can't even use your legs to stand up. But Nick would be damned before he asked a perfect stranger to wipe his ass. So he reached for the handle bar next to the toilet to lift himself up while he grabbed the toilet paper with his other paw.

It was hard however to keep your balance without the use of your legs, and with only one paw to support him, paw that was nowhere near his center of mass, Nick simply tumbled and fell to the ground next to the toilet with a loud thump.

He heard the sound of the handle being turned as the nurse called out for him.

"Mr. Wilde are you alri…"

"DON'T ENTER…"

His shout made the opening door freeze before it could open completely.

"Don't enter… please. I'm okay…"

"Are you sure? I can help you if you need. There's no shame in that."

"I'm fine… thanks."

The nurse hesitated before finally closing the door she had begun to open. Nick then crawled to the paper roll and plucked some paper. He laid on his chest, his cheek pressed against the cold floor, as he wiped himself. After that he threw the used paper into the bowl and crawled back to the handle. Using both paw this time, he lifted himself up and sat back down onto the toilet before flushing it. He made sure the hospital gown was properly in place and then called for the nurse.

"Okay you can come in now."

The panther opened the door and walked up to Nick's side. She grabbed him and lifted him up before carrying him to his bed.

"Before you go…" He said. "Could you hand me the cards and stuff my friends left for me?"

"Haven't you already read them?"

"Yeah, but I'd like to read them again to pass time." Nick shrugged. "It's not as if I had anything else to do, my phone is probably lost somewhere in a pile of rubble and I can't really just take a walk outside can I?"

The nurse nodded before transferring the things that cluttered his bedside table onto the tray attached to his bed. Nick picked a random card and faked reading it until the nurse was out of the room.

Nick had already read the cards and had no real intention to do it again (seriously he owed Finnick five bucks and the fox still wanted his money back even though he was unconscious). What really interested him was the carrot shaped pen that was left with the rest of the cards.

Since Judy's favorite pen had been destroyed in the explosion along with the rest of the evidences, she had gone out and bought two new ones. One was for herself and the other was for him.  As much of a nice gift as this was, what interested him the most was the message she had left on it while he was unconscious.

His finger lazily rested on the play button. How many times had he listened to this message now? No matter how much it never bored him or failed to make his heart flutter, and so, he pressed the button.

There was a shuffling sound followed by Judy's voice. It was low, and lacked her usual happy chipper, but he still recognized her nonetheless.

"Hey Nick…" She began. "I… I don't know if you're ever going to hear this, I hope you do… I realize that if you do I could probably tell you this myself but I still want to say this even if… If you don't wake up. Again that would mean you'd never hear this but at least I will have said it… This makes no sense and look, I'm rambling now like the dumb bunny I am…"

The voice from the carrot pen gave a forced laugh before pausing and composing herself.

"W-What I want to say is… Thank you… Thank you for everything. Before I met you Nick I was just this dumb and… bigoted bunny with horrible prejudices against predators that I didn't even know I had. But after I met you… You… You changed my life for the better so much."

"Without you, I'm not sure I would have ever achieved my dream, my real dream. I might have been stuck as a meter maid for the rest of my life and I would have been miserable. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. I was alone for so long until you just waltzed through with your charm and swagger. And even though you were annoying at first you never once treated me as lesser of a mammal, even when you pretended you did. When no one believed in me, you did, and when no one would fight for me you would. You became my only friend."

"And even after I was horrible to you, after I had said all those horrible small minded things and after I hurt you; you were willing to forgive me. You made me realize how speciesist I was, how flawed I was. Because that's what you do… You make me better…"

Judy sighed.

"I miss you Nick and… W-What I'm trying to say is… I love you."

The recording ended and Nick was left in a eerily quiet room.

"It's true you know…"

Nick turned to the source of the voice. He saw Judy in police uniform leaning against the room's door frame.

"Hey carrots! What are you doing here?" Nick said while putting on a smile. "I thought you were working in Sahara right now, doing anything buffalo butt had to occupy you."

Despite how miserable he felt all day as he contemplated the loss of the usage of his legs, Judy never failed to make him smile when she visited.

"I actually managed to convince the chief to let me be on patrol duty today instead of filling redundant paperwork. It's my lunch break right now and considering how close the hospital was, I thought I could spend it with you."

"Well get you fluffy butt over here officer."

Judy looked around before she hopped on the bed and crawled next to him. She gave him a quick kiss before getting a salad out from her lunch bag.

"So how are things at work?"

Judy paused her munching to look back at him.

"Urgh boooooring! It's all useless reports and time wasting jobs until they finish repairing the precinct. The reconstruction is going along well though so we should hopefully be able to get back there in a few weeks. Wing C is going to take more time to rebuild however since they have to start from scratch. We're probably not getting our fancy investigator office back for a while."

"Speaking of… What's happening with the case?"

Judy looked down to her lap.

"Well all the evidences we had was destroyed so we've got nothing against Perry. But that doesn't really matter anyway because the case doesn't belong to us anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Internal affair took over after the explosion. I heard they're looking into what happened right now."

"Seriously? Nobody from IA came to see me yet."

"Strange. I would have thought that they'd want your testimony… Anyway, how are things on your side?"

"Oh well you know… My legs feel a bit sore, but other than that I'm fine."

It was a lie but Nick hoped that the pun would be enough to fool her.

"How is rehab going?"

"I'm making progress…" He said dryly.

Another lie, Nick hadn't felt anything in his legs ever since he woke up. He hadn't missed the fact that the doctor had said there was a chance he would recover, which also meant that there was a chance he would not. Right now Nick was starting to wonder if he'd have to spend the rest of his life like this. Would Judy even still want him?

"Nick what's wrong?"

**~Right, forgot the pun…**

"The curtains…" he answered. "They don't match the rest of the room."

Judy put her salad aside and turned to Nick. She passed one of her leg over his thighs and straddled his lap. This made the smug face he used as a mask crumble as she stared him down.

"Nick…" She softly said while putting a paw on each side of his face. "Speak to me."

"I… I'm starting to think I won't ever walk again…"

"Be patient Nick. You've only started rehab four days ago. Give it time, I'm sure you'll pull through."

"But what if I don't? What if I'm stuck like this forever?"

"Then we'll deal with it together."

"Are you sure you want that Judy? Be stucked with a cripple fox?"

"Hey. Nick look at me." She said softly. "Walking or not, you're still you and I love you. I'm never going to leave you okay even if you are paralyzed."

"Easy to say now but what about in a year? Do you really think you could deal with having to carry me all your life? Having to help me get dressed and undressed? Having to work for the both of us, because I might not be able to find someone willing to hire a fox, even less one in a wheelchair?"

"Those things don't matter Nick. You are so much more than the ability to put on clothes or find a job. I love you, and I always will. I know it can be hard to believe now, but have I ever said one thing and not done it? I'm not leaving you Nick, no matter how much you loathe yourself for it."

With that she pulled him into a deep kiss that sent both their hearts speeding. Large tongue intertwined with smaller one as Judy moaned in Nick's mouth and he moaned back. They hungrily tasted each other and danced in their mouth before they finally had to pull away to breath.

"Well I have good news… It seems I'm not paralyzed everywhere from the waist down…"

Judy smiled cheekily.

"Told you we would make it work…"

She kissed him again, but pulled away before they got too engaged again.

"As soon as you're cleared to go back home I'm rocking your world…"

"Oh yeah?" Said Nick while wiggling his eyebrows. "And how are you going to do that exactly?"

"Want me to tell you?"

Nick nodded eagerly.

"Fine…"

Judy leaned forward and whispered sensually in Nick's ear. A shiver ran down his spine before Judy pulled away with a smug grin.

"Quite the imagination you got."

"Finnick gave me a book on inter-species sex. Got my mind thinking..."

"Oh yeah? Well… Wait what?"

"Yeah he found out."

"How?"

"I think he knows you too much. He didn't seem really disturbed by it though so I think we're good."

"Huh. Well I'll have to thank him for that… after I read it with you…"

Judy smiled and kissed him again. It started to get heated again so she pulled away with a deep blush.

"I should go now. If I stay any longer I'll probably be late."

"All right. I won't keep you from making the world a better place."

"I love you." She said while getting off his bed and packing her lunch.

"I love you too."

With that Judy exited the room, a blush still tainting her face.

God he loved that bunny…

* * *

"Chief Bogo…" Spoke the kangaroo. "If you could please behave properly and not interrupt the hearing."

Bogo huffed and sat back down grudgingly.

"The chief does bring an important point however Mr. Wolf. Do you have any evidences to support your claim?"

"Of course. Tell me chief Bogo; in the case of a fire, what will happen to the ZPD's database?"

"A copy is uploaded to the city hall server bank. Why?"

Zeke didn't look at the chief and instead chose to answer to the kangaroo.

"Moment's before the explosion, the fire alarm was triggered causing the database to be uploaded. During our investigation, we have searched the database and found a particularly interesting file. Here are paper copies."

The albino wolf handed a copy over to the three kangaroos and took one for himself.

"The file was named 'Report Addendum' and was written by the late lead investigator, Randal Coon."

The wolf opened his own copy, and started reading out loud…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I uh… I don't really have anything to say so… Comment, like and goodbye I guess
> 
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	25. Recovery and night time visits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter guys. I'm not going to keep you reading boring author's note for long so here you go.

"I, investigator Randal Coon, and my associate investigator, Alboar Porkins, admit that our previous report were incomplete. Events that happened during the investigation of the Po and Arfur case led us to believe that it would be in the best interest of the ZPD, and the investigation to not reveal certain elements of the case."

"After that it keeps going on for a while until we come to the interesting part."

"This brings me to the reason why we decided to conceal this for the moment. The two mammals in question were no other than officer Hopps, and officer Wilde. While I personally doubt that Hopps and Wilde are involved in any way with the murder, we cannot ignore the fact that they personally asked to be assigned as help on the case."

Zeke put down his own copy of the report and waited for the kangaroos to read through.

"As you can see, investigators Coon and Porkins were suspecting officers Wilde and Hopps to be involved with the previous murder case to which they were assign. As if of coincidence, investigator Coon and Porkins happened to die on duty while investigating that case."

"Are you suggesting that Hopps and Wilde killed Coon and Porkins?" asked Bogo while ignoring the glares of the kangaroos.

Zeke gave a toothy grin.

"Precisely…"

* * *

"27… 28… 29… And 30. Okay, next leg now. 1… 2… 3…"

Nick was seated in a chair, facing the male nurse. The nurse was extending and retracting his leg with each of his counts while Nick watched him do so.

"You know, maybe if you follow me around everywhere and put my legs in front of the other for me, I won't even notice I'm paralyzed."

"Shut it smarty fox. Were working on you situational awareness right now. The goal is for you to be able to tell what leg is extended."

Nick chuckled at the grizzly's jab.

"Beside, you won't be paralyzed for long."

"What makes you say that?"

"I can tell…"

"Hum… Okay. Care to develop there Barney?"

"I can usually tell which patients walk again, and which ones don't. It's like a sixth sense, you know?"

"Okay, now I think you're the one who needs checking."

"Whatever man. If you feel the need to play cynical then suit yourself. But in the 4 years I've been doing this I've never got it wrong."

Silence fell as Barney went back to stretching Nick's leg.

"Okay, close your eyes."

Nick closed them.

"Which leg am I holding up?"

"Uh… Right one?"

"Nope."

"Damn! that was a fifty-fifty chance."

"I know, that's why I was holding both of them up."

"Hey that's cheating!"

"Whatever, I think you're just a sore loser."

Barney went back to flexing Nick's leg.

"So, you think I'll walk…"

The grizzly stopped to look up at Nick with a smug smile.

"I think that if you give it a few months, you'll be running like a cheetah."

"Well I think that even in my present position I could outrun Clawhauser."

"Who?"

"Sorry, I uh… I'm used to only talking to people in a very closed circle."

"Wow, that's kind off sad you know."

Nick rolled his eyes and huffed as Barney snickered.

"I would kick you right now if could."

"Why don't you try it foxy?"

Nick cringed.

"Hurgh, no, and don't call me foxy, it really doesn't suit you… Or me for that matter."

"What do you want me to call you then?"

Nick faked being in deep thought.

"How about, 'cool dude with attitude'?"

"It just keeps getting sadder and sadder." Said the nurse while shaking his head.

"As sad as having to massage the legs of an ungrateful fox everyday?"

"Hey, I'll have you know, I massage the legs of plenty of ungrateful mammals, not just foxes. Speaking of which…"

Barney started to massage Nick left thigh with both paws.

"So, do you like it? This job I mean, having to take care of others like this, even if they are annoying?"

"Hell yeah! Its my dream job."

"Isn't it a bit unusual for a male grizzly to want to become a nurse?"

"Isn't it a bit unusual for a fox to be a cop?"

"Touché… So why did you do it?"

"I don't know. It kind of just, appealed to me. I want to help mammals, and there is something I like about nursing, I just don't know what it is. And you, why did you do it?"

Nick smiled.

"To impress a girl…"

"Did it work?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say it did."

Barney smiled knowingly before he stood up.

"Well, I think that's enough for today."

"Aw, already? I was just starting to warm up."

"Well, save your energy for tomorrow, because it has been two weeks since you started rehab; which means you get to start water training."

"Just to be clear, this isn't an euphemism for learning to hold pee in?"

"Nope, sorry. Looks like you get to keep that diaper on buddy."

"Its not like I use the thing, I know how to hold myself!"

"I'm sure you do."

"It's true! I didn't wet it."

"I'm proud of you. You're a big boy." He said while patting Nick's shoulder.

"Oh screw you Barney! But seriously though, is there any way I can have real underwear instead of this?"

"Sorry, but protocol states that all patients who are in your condition must wear diapers. Less work for the guy who has to clean the sheets…"

Barney formed a gun with his paws and pointed it at Nick.

"Paws up!"

Nick complied, but not without sparing his new friend an eye roll at his daily joke. He waited for Barney to grab him by the chest before letting his arms fall again. Barney lifted him up from the chair, and put him down on a wheelchair.

"Okay, time to go to bed."

"But daddy, I don't feel tired!" Nick whined.

"Hush now, and be a good fox."

Barney took off the wheelchair's brakes, and pushed him along. Nick let himself be carried to his destination, while he rested lazily in his chair.

"I heard that your bunny friend came to visit you while we were exercising."

"What?" Nick looked at him with wide eyes. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Before he he could reply, Nick grabbed both wheels and began turning them as fast as he could. He sped down the hallway on his own, leaving Barney behind.

"To impress a girl eh?"

Nick arrived to the front door of his hospital room, worried that Judy had already left. He stopped in front off his room when he realized, he couldn't open the door on his own while in a wheelchair. Not sure what to do, Nick simply shrugged, and knocked on his own door. He heard a bit of shuffling before the door opened to a smiling grey bunny.

"Hey!" He said, a smile spreading on his own face.

Judy moved aside, to let Nick roll in, and then closed the door behind him.

"So how have things been goin- hmpf…"

Nick was cut short, when Judy jumped into his wheelchair, straddling him, and pressing her lips against his. Nick quickly melted into the kiss and circled his arms around her. He kept holding her close to him, even when she pulled away.

"Good…" She answered with a smile. "And how have things been going on your side?"

"Hmm… I don't know. Maybe if you give me another kiss I'll remember…"

Judy was all too happy to comply.

"Mmh I'd say things are going well…" Nick said after she had pulled away.

"Great, because I have good news…" She said while booping his nose.

"Which is?"

"I'm moving back to city center tomorrow since they finished the repairs on the regular officers' offices. But more importantly though, I got us a deal…"

"You did?"

"Yup! For the one we liked, at the price we liked."

During the past week, Judy and Nick had picked up where they had left before the explosion. Which was talking about moving in together. It might have been too soon for the usual couple, but Nick and Judy were anything but usual. Plus, they both really wanted it, even more so after the explosion. They had learned that anything could happen at anytime, so they didn't want to waste any time.

"So… Should I take it?"

"I think it would be nice."

"Good, I'll tell Bogo that we're becoming roommates tomorrow. Perfect timing actually, because I forgot to tell you, there was bad news too…"

"What? Come on carrots, you know you have to tell the bad news first, otherwise the joke doesn't work."

Judy rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a smile from creeping onto her face.

"It's not that bad. Your uh… your landlord just said that he didn't want me to stay at your place while you were gone…"

"What!? Why? How is it not 'that bad'?"

"He simply said that he couldn't rent out your apartment to me."

"But you're not renting it, I am."

"That's what I said, but he wouldn't listen to me. Said that unless you were there, it was just like renting."

"But you're not paying the rent."

"About that…"

Nick looked at her confused.

"Your rent might have came while you were unconscious and… I might have paid it…" Judy looked away as she finished her sentence.

"Wait, with your money?"

Judy nodded.

"But, why? You know where I keep mine, why would you pay it? You should have just used my cash."

"It didn't feel right." Judy protested. "Plus, I feel like I owe it to you. You've been housing me for over a month now, and I just felt like it was the right thing to do. And it's not like it mattered really since we found a place anyway."

"But where are you going to sleep now?"

"Oh don't worry about that. Your landlord has given me a few days to move out, enough time to move into OUR new place."

Nick couldn't help but smile, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"You got everything under control haven't you?"

"Always" she whispered, before they went back to making out. Nick held her close to him as she kept straddling his hips on the wheel chair.

"Sorry to interrupt you two…"

Judy gasped and froze at the sound of the deep voice. They both turned their heads to the door, to find a grizzly under it.

"But I forgot to tell you, well, no I didn't, you ran away before I had the chance to say anything, tomorrow's rehab will start 30 minutes earlier."

"Your mother never told you to knock before coming in Barney?" Asked Nick with an undertone of annoyance. Meanwhile, Judy simply stood there, completely frozen in shock.

"Sorry but, this is an hospital, not a hotel. So you better keep that diaper on big boy."

With that, Barney closed the door and left.

"W-What was that?" Asked Judy, coming down from the shock.

"That was Barney being nosy. He's my rehab instructor, and don't worry, he's not going to tell anyone."

"Ah, uh… okay…"

"So… Where were we again?" Nick said with a smile.

* * *

Visiting time was now over, and Nick fast asleep after the long day. The lights of his room were off, while the lights of the hallway were only dimmed, as to let the patients sleep, while allowing the night nurses to see where they were going. The usually busy hospital, fell into silence at night, with the only exception being the low humming of machines.

Nick was far from having a good night's sleep. His head thrashed from side to side, as he was stuck in a recurring nightmare. He was alone, in a seemingly never ending hallway. In his dream, Nick could still use his legs, and use them he did. He tried to run away, but seemed to only be able to run at a crawling pace. Behind him he knew that the bomb was ticking. He had to run… He had to escape, had to warn the others, had to warn Judy… He needed to warn Judy, to make sure she was safe. The bomb was about to blow, he knew it. He had to warn her, he had to prevent her from getting hurt, he had to…

The bomb exploded.

Nick's eyes shot open as he woke up, panting. He felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep for a few hours.

He had been having the same nightmare, or one similar, almost every night since he had gotten out of his coma. It would always end with the bomb exploding somewhere, and either him, or even worse, Judy, getting hurt.

"Good, you're awake. I was starting to think I would have to wake you up myself."

Nick's rapid breathing came to a sudden stop, as the voice registered in his head. Using his hand, he quickly sat up in his hospital bed. Panic seized him, as he recognized to whom the voice belonged.

In front of him, in the chair Judy usually sat in when she came to visit, was a platypus.

Nick quickly looked for the remote to call a nurse.

"Don't bother…" Said Perry, "I put it away while you were asleep."

Nick looked at him, with fury in his eyes. In front of him was the mammal responsible for what happened to him, and for killing his friends.

"What do you want?" Asked Nick coldly.

"What? I can't come visit an old friend in the hospital?"

Perry propped one of his leg up on his lap, looking as if he was completely uninterested by what was going on. He started to fiddle with the dart poking out of his palmed foot, while he made a show of squeezing it, making a few drops of venom trickle out.

"Visiting hours are over."

"Meah, I'm supposed to lay low right now. You should be thankful I'm even taking some of my time to come by."

"You're here to finish the job, aren't you?"

"What Job?"

"You know what I'm talking about Perry."

"My apologies officer, but I am afraid you'll have to be more specific, for I haven't the slightest idea of to what you are referring."

"Perry, if you're going to kill me, then you could at least spare me the sass."

"Kill you? Heavens no! I would never do such a thing."

"You killed my friends."

"And do you have any proof of that?"

"..."

"That's what I thought."

Perry dropped his foot, and got up from the chair. He slowly walked towards Nick, and stopped by his side. Nick was powerless to flee with his paralyzed legs, and so he was left with only one option.

Don't let him see he gets to you…

Nick didn't even flinch when Perry got closer. He simply continued to stare at him with even more anger than before.

Perry slowly leaned in towards him, and Nick waited for the inevitable. He closed his eyes, as he prepared to feel a blade slide across his throat, or to be asphyxiated by a pillow or something along the line. He felt Perry's breath crash against his ear, as the platypus probably wished to give him one last taunt.

"I hope you get better soon." He whispered.

And just like that, Perry pulled away. Nick cracked an eye open and saw Perry grabbing a coat and making his way to the door.

"Perry, wait."

The platypus froze, his paw resting on the door's handle.

"If you're not here to kill me, then why did you come?"

Then something extraordinary happened, something that Nick had never seen before…

Perry looked genuinely sad.

"I told you, I came to visit an old friend…"

Perry smiled at him, and opened the door.

"Sorry I didn't bring a card." He said as he walked away.

Nick was left alone in his room again; completely dumbstruck by what had just happened.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Said Bogo. "You are basing your case purely on coincidences. There is no proof of correlation."

"Chief Bogo, were you aware of the existence of this report?" Asked Wolf.

"No of course not."

"Then I assume you were not aware that officer Wilde and officer Hopps knew of it's existence."

"What?"

"The database's history states that this very file was accessed a few days after investigators Coon and Porkins' death from the investigation office; which, at that time, was used by officer Wilde and officer Hopps."

"I…"

"So they failed to report this to you I presume…"

Bogo didn't know what to say. It sure made them look guilty, but he couldn't believe that they would do something like this.

But the evidence was there, and it all pointed in one direction…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I had too much fun writing Barney.
> 
> That's it for today guys and gals. Tune in next time when we finally come to the hearing, and see what repercussion it will have on our protagonists.
> 
> But in the meantime, let me know what you think in the comments and favorite/kudo and follow as always.


	26. The hearing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uuuurgh! I hate how this chapter turned out.
> 
> So, for those who were wondering what took me so long; I was in exam week (and so was my beta). Not only that, but this chapter is longer than the previous ones. Bad news is that I really don't like how it turned out. It looks like a cluster f*** to me but I simply could not make it feel right.
> 
> I also noticed that a lot of you were confused by the timeline, an understandable thing seeing how updates have been irregular at best. So to make sure everyone knows what is going on let me explain.
> 
> After the explosion, every chapter has been set one week after the other until now. But at the beginning and end of each chapter there was a flash forward to the hearing which happened a month and a half after the explosion. I repeat, the past chapters did not take place at the same time as the hearing with the exception of their beginning and end. But now we have finally caught up to the hearing and so this chapter is mainly about that. If you don't remember how the hearing went up to now you could always go back and read the start and end of the previous few chapters. Otherwise, I have included extracts of these parts in this chapter to work your memory a bit.
> 
> Now that this is out of the way, you can begin to read this abomination I call a chapter (I really don't like it if you can't tell.)

 

"Okay, which one now?"

"Uh… I'd say right?"

"Correct. And now?"

"Still right."

"Very good! And now for the last one?"

"Hard to tell… their either both up or both down but knowing you and how lazy you are I'd say they're both down while you're just relaxing on a chair at the back of the room."

"Okay, now this is becoming unsettling…" Came the slightly distant voice of Barney.

Nick smiled and opened his eyes before locating his friend who was indeed seated on a chair in the corner.

"What can I say, you're simply too easy to read..."

"Let me stop you right there before you make a snarky comment. Just remember that I'll be the only thing keeping your head above water once we go in the pool…"

"Duly noted."

"The good news though, is that you seem to have fully recuperated your situational awareness ability."

"Thank you Barney for coming up with such a wordy way to put 'knowing where your legs are' but can you tell me again why it's of any help?"

"Shut it. You just don't want to admit that I'm right and that you'll be walking again in no time."

"Right, because the worst thing that could happen to me right now is to regain the usage of my legs."

"Well I do have a hard time figuring what you love the most; your legs or your ego?"

"Please, how could you not love these legs? Have you looked at them, they look great."

"Your ego it is. But as fun as talking about those two sticks you call legs is, we should work on using them again before they get even more atrophied."

"Again, all foxes are this slim and let me just change into my swimwear okay."

"I assume you still don't want my help to get into those?"

"You assume right."

"You know it would be easier if you'd just let me help you."

"Maybe, but I'm alright by myself."

"Alright by yourself? Please, everytime you have to change I can hear you struggling in the bathroom. Why don't you just let me help you?"

"You know why."

"Listen, it's okay… Not everyone can be well endowed."

"Screw you Barney." Nick said without the slightest hint of actual annoyance.

"In all seriousness though, it's okay to accept help Nick. It doesn't make you any less of a mammal or anything. You gotta learn to take a helping paw."

"I don't have a problem with accepting help…"

Barney cocked an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I do like to be more self sufficient than most mammals, but being able to change into a swimsuit is still the minimal."

"Not in your position."

"But I won't be in my position for too long, you said it yourself. Now if you'll please excuse me, I need to go and try to fit my oversized ego into a tiny swimsuit."

* * *

It had been a month and a half since the explosion.

Bogo walked down the hall of the courthouse, his hoofsteps echoing against the walls.

* * *

The "pool" was really nothing more than a big bathtub. To Nick, the water came up to his chest, but for Barney it was nothing more than a slightly deep pond. A large treadmill covered the bottom of the pool and allowed patients to "walk" at different speed. Barney set it to one of the lowest settings and then entered the pool with Nick in his arms.

He lowered Nick into the water and let him float while he reached for the fox's legs. Despite what Barney had said earlier, Nick's arms and chest were clad in floaters to prevent him from sinking.

Meanwhile, Barney was moving Nick's leg in accordance with the treadmill. While he wasn't actually able to feel his legs, Nick could at least perceive them moving. The pseudo-feeling of walking made him smile. Because, for as tough as he gave it to Barney, he actually believed him. Nick finally believed he would be able to walk again…

* * *

"All rise!" Shouted a camel.

The gathered crowd raised from their seat to greet the three officials that seated over the hearing. While not judges, they were high ranking members of internal affairs and they were the ones who would judge if the findings of the case would be significant enough to move to the supreme court. Funnily enough, they were all kangaroos…

* * *

Once the training was done for the day, Barney accompanied Nick back to his room. They stopped in front of the door which was guarded by a rhino in uniform.

"I swear officer we don't have any drugs on us." Said Nick.

"Nor do we have large quantity of liquids, weapons, pets or other organic matter." Barney added.

McHorn rolled his eyes and huffed.

"One of you was enough. I could really do without two Wildes."

McHorn opened the door for them nonetheless.

"Hopps is waiting for you inside… As usual."

"Thanks big guy." Said Nick before turning to Barney. "Thanks other big guy; but I'll take this from here."

"Aye-aye captain." Said the grizzly.

Barney left Nick with a salute and then turned around to go off to his own business.

Meanwhile, McHorn closed the door behind Nick and sighed.

"Babysitting a fox; how low have I fallen?"

* * *

The crowd turned to face the mammal. An enormous albino wolf that stood a head and a half higher than any other wolf Bogo had seen before. His perfectly white fur and red eyes gave him the allure of a hell hound, on the look out for it's victim. He wore a mischievous cold smile that could freeze a forest fire. His eyes bore into every mammal that stared at him mouth agape. Bogo was not the type to be easily impressed but a shiver ran down his spine when the wolf fixed his sights on him and his smile grew.

* * *

"What is this smell I smell? A little prey has lost her way, I can tell." Nick Sign-sogned the lines of an old fairy tale as he entered the room.

"Oh help me, help me Foxy. I am lost and and alone. Can you help me find my way back home?" Answered Judy playing along.

"Haven't your parents ever told you not to wonder in the woods?" Nick began circling Judy with his wheelchair all the while keeping his eyes on her. "Someone could hunt you or hurt you or... kiss y-umpf!"

As Nick swooped in to plant a kiss on her lips, he was stopped mid sentence by Judy's paw.

"Hun-hun-hun, none of that when McHorn is just outside."

Nick pulled back and rolled his eyes.

"Urgh! Why is he even still there? Did he piss-off Bogo or something?"

"He's still there because a serial killer broke into your room while you were sleeping in case you already forgot. And yeah he thought it would be funny to pull the old whoopee cushion on Bogo."

"That was a week ago and nothing bad has happened since. Also; seriously he did that?"

"So you're just going to shrug off the fact that Perry could have easily killed you and probably still can because you're still alive?"

"I told you, Perry didn't come to kill me. I don't know why he came but if it had been to kill me we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"So you're just going to trust him now?" She said while crossing her arms.

Nick sighed. "I'll never trust that platypus, but I trust my own judgement. And I tell you he didn't act like someone who wanted me dead."

"Whatever. The chief thinks it's safer if you have someone guarding your room."

"The chief thinks it's safer for himself because you threatened him after I told you."

"I didn't threatened him, I simply… Persuaded him to think logically."

"Carrots, McHorn told me how that conversation went down. That wasn't persuasion, it was intimidation."

"I'm sorry, but when a killer comes visit you at night and acts all 'your friendly neighborhood psychopath' you don't just go back to sleep without a shotgun by your side."

"Careful there fluff. Your country bumpkin side is starting to show up."

"I'm just saying that having someone guard your door is the least we could do."

"It's not going to help. We've seen Perry take on two of Mr. Big's henchmammal, do you really think McHorn can stop him?"

Judy looked down at the floor.

"I… I just want you to be safe…"

"Hey, hey I know…" Nick got closer to her and trapped her in his arms. "I know you just want me to be safe, I want you to be safe too. But I'm already as safe as I'm going to be so you need to stop worrying and kiss your dumb fox already."

Judy smiled and looked up at him.

"Allright… dumb fox."

In that instant, Judy jumped on him and hooked her arms around his neck before kissing him.

"I knew I smelled and held a weeny tiny bunny."

"Oh shut it."

* * *

"After a thorough investigation, we have found that indeed two ZPD officers are responsible for the attack that plagued our city. After the discovery of many incriminating evidences, we have concluded that officer Judy Laverne Hopps and officer Nicholas Piberius Wilde are responsible of the attack."

The room exploded in shouts…

* * *

"So, how's the new place doing for you?"

"It's nice but there's something missing."

"What?"

"My dumb fox." Answered Judy before planting a kiss on his cheek. "Also, I wish it was a bit closer to work but it's not too bad."

"Speaking of work, other than McHorn's oh so cruel punishment, is there anything else going on back at the office?"

"Well, the hearing is going to take place this afternoon but other than that it's calm. A lot of tasks are still managed by the other precincts."

"I can't wait to know what IA found."

"Me neither."

* * *

"I, investigator Randal Coon and my associate investigator Alboar Porkins admit that our previous reports were incomplete. Events that happened during the investigation of the Po and Arfur case led us to believe that it would be in the best interest of the ZPD and the investigation to not reveal certain elements of the case."

"After that it keeps going on for a while until we come to the interesting part."

"This brings me to the reason why we decided to conceal this for the moment. The two mammals in question were no other than officer Hopps and officer Wilde. While I personally doubt that Hopps and Wilde are involved in any way with the murder, we cannot ignore the fact that they personally asked to be assigned as help on the case."

* * *

"THIS IS LUDICROUS!" Screamed Bogo. "The idea that Hopps and Wilde would be involved is laughable."

"Chief Bogo I will ask you for the last time to sit down and shut your mouth or I will be forced to have you escorted out of the room. Am I being clear?" The kangaroo presiding over the assembly was clearly tired of the chief's antics.

Bogo huffed and slowly sat down, not without sparing the albino wolf a hard glare. Once he was seated, the kangaroo turned his attention back to the canine.

"What is it exactly that you are suggesting Mr. Wolf?"

"I'm suggesting that officer Wilde and Hopps are guilty of quintuple murder, soliciting murder, corruption as well as an act of terrorism against the city and it's keepers. I'm suggesting that they silenced Mr. Po and McArfur because they were aware of their hidden intentions. I'm suggesting that they then applied to help the former investigators solve their murder in the goal to cover their tracks. I'm suggesting that they framed two dry cleaners who had witnessed their crime by the name of Bullwinkle and Thidwick, that they managed to arrest one and then convince incarcerated criminals to murder him while they tracked down the other. I'm suggesting that once investigator Coon and Porkins found out, they killed them as well as the remaining witness. I'm suggesting that they then took on the roll of the investigators and covered the loose ends with a wild goose chase against a mysterious serial killer. And finally, I'm suggesting that they attempted to destroy all evidences that could prove otherwise by planting a bomb in the evidence room that just happened to be situated under the server room. All evidences would have been effectively destroyed if it wasn't for the emergency backup."

Bogo slowly raised his hoof like he was a kid back in highschool. The kangaroo rolled his eyes before acknowledging him.

"Yes chief Bogo you may speak."

"This is bullshit."

The kangaroo sighed.

"You have no evidences apart from a text file that could be interpreted in many ways. What would their motive even have been?"

"How ever annoying the chief may be, I am inclined to agree with him. You make a very weak case Mr. Wolf."

"That is only because I have not yet had the chance to present all of my findings. As for motive I believe it was to infiltrate the ZPD."

Clawhauser, who was seated next to Bogo and supposed to take notes, gasped as another round of confused whispers spread through the assembly.

"Could you please elaborate."

"Of course. I believe the only reason officer Wilde joined the ZPD was to act as an informer."

"To whom exactly?"

"Various criminals but notably the infamous crime boss Mr. Big."

"And do you have anything to support these claims?"

"I was just waiting for you to ask…"

Zeke put two of his digits in his mouth before letting out a sharp whistle.

The doors of the room opened to two other wolves that were pushing a large television on a cart.

"Exhibit number one." He said while grabbing a remote.

He pressed a button and the image of a file appeared on screen.

"This, ladies and gentemammals, is the criminal record of officer Wilde."

"What do you mean?" Asked Bogo. "Wilde doesn't have a record, he wouldn't have made it past the background check if he did."

The kangaroos ignored Bogo's unallowed comment since they too were confused. If anyone wanted to become a police officer they had to go through a background check to prevent the very thing Zeke was suggesting. Wilde could not possibly have a criminal record prior to his graduation.

"He as now. And while some things can pass through background checks, nothing escapes the scrutiny of internal affairs."

Zeke turned back to the screen.

"We interrogated some of Mr. Wilde's past acquaintances and have come up with the following list; tax evasion, fraud, drug trafficking, drug consumption and organised crime."

"And do you have any evidences suggesting this."

"As a matter of fact I do. We have numerous witness statement that claim to have been aware of officer Wilde's involvement with the Big familly. It would be logical to assume that Mr. Big would want some informant inside the ZPD and who better than officer Wilde? But if you want something more solid, then I offer you these."

Zeke pressed the remote and a photo appeared on screen. at first glance, Bogo could only see Hopps and Wilde seated at a small dressed table but when he looked closer he managed to make out the shrews that were seated with them.

"These were taken a FruFru Big's wedding a few months ago and as you can see, officer Wilde and Hopps seem to be rather at ease sharing cake with known crime lords."

Zeke flicked through a few more of the wedding's photos before being interrupted by Bogo.

"I'm sorry but I must interject. Officer Hopps explained in her report on the nighthowler case that she had to consult with Mr. Big to further her investigation."

"Yes and I assume crime lords are well known for talking to police officers…"

"No but officer Hopps also explained that she had rescued Mr. Big's daughter while on duty a few days prior. Mr. Big answered her questions to return a favor."

"Very well, and what about officer Wilde?"

"I'm sorry what?"

Instead of answering the question, Zeke simply turned to the audience and cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentemammals, what I'm about to share with you is extremely sensitive information and shall under no circumstances leave this room. Using Homeland's contacts and influence, we managed to convince the ZBI to let us interview an agent who is currently working undercover for Mr. Big. To ensure that his identity remains secret we have modulated his voice."

Zeke pressed the remote once again and a recording started. The voice was deep and robotic in a way that prevented anyone from guessing even the mammals' specie.

"Yes I was there that night when Mr. Big caught the bunny cop and the fox snooping around." Said the modulated voice. "I was sure he was going to ice the both of them, saying how the fox had betrayed him, but then that fox started pleading and vouched for the bunny. After a bit of talking and convincing Mr. Big decided to let them go and even invited them to the feast as honored guest. I think that fox must have proposed a good deal to the shrew for him to change his mind so much but I couldn't say what it was."

Then Zeke's voice emerged from the screen.

"You talked about Mr. Big accusing the fox of betrayal. Had you seen him around before?"

"Yeah and a few times after too. They were very reserved as to what his job was so I couldn't tell you but it must have been important."

The recording ended and the room was silent.

"And what of officer Hopps?" Asked Bogo desperately trying to prove his two best officers' innocence. "It is well known that being an officer was her lifelong dream. You're suggesting she started planning all of this when she was a kit?"

"Of course not. There is no doubt in my mind that she joined the force with the best of intentions. Sadly, I believe it is officer Wilde who corrupted her."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that we know officer Wilde has been involved with Mr. Big in the past and that after befriending officer Wilde, low and behold, officer Hopps became the Godmother of Mr. Big's granddaughter."

"The ZPD is aware of Hopps' involvement with the Big family. It was formed by events out of her control and she never had the intention of benefiting from it."

"No but Wilde did. By tying his partner to the crime family, he is able to fidelise her and eventually corrupt her. After a while of maintaining good relations with officer Wilde and the Big family, she must have felt a bigger sense of belonging with them than with the force. It is at that time that the Big family must have recruited her."

"So that's your theory?" Fumed Bogo. "That Wilde schemed his way into the ZPD to act as a mole?"

"Well, he is a fox after all…"

Whispers emanated from the whole assembly once more until the kangaroos called for silence.

"Your case is still lacking in evidences Mr. Wolf."

The albino wolf smiled and pointed the remote back at the screen.

"Exhibit number two…"

As Zeke pressed the play button, a video feed appeared on the screen. It was of poor quality but you could still make out the hippo that was cuffed to the interrogation table. Bogo could tell he was a prisoner from his orange jumpsuit. Then a huge white wolf entered the small room.

"Mr. Bubba?" Came Zeke's voice from the tv's speakers.

"Yeah that would be me."

"I see in your file that you admitted to murdering a fellow inmate not so long ago."

"I did."

"Why did you do that?"

The Hippo shrugged.

"I'm already here for the rest of my days so I don't see what I had to lose."

"No that's not what I meant. I want to know is WHY you did it."

There was a moment of silence before the convict answered.

"I was asked to…"

"By whom?"

"I don't know."

Zeke kept staring at the mammal in front of him."

"I don't know his name. He just came and asked for me during visiting hours. He said that if I killed that moose he would give a whole lot of money to my family."

"Could you describe that mammal for us?"

"Red fox, mid-thirties, green eyes, I'd say about 4 foot tall, a bit less."

"Is this the fox you're talking about?"

Zeke slid a photo on the table. The video quality was too low to make out what it was but everyone could guess that it was a photo of Nick.

"Yeah that's him."

"Thank you Mr. Bubba, I think we have everything that we wanted."

The video feed became static and then completely stopped.

"After this, we requested the transaction history of officer Wilde's bank account. Here is what we found."

Zeke pressed another button on the remote and the screen switched to the image of a transaction history from the ZMB. A withdrawal of 10, 000$ was highlighted.

"As you can see, officer Wilde withdrew a large summe of money from his account only a few days after the incident."

Zeke turned to the chief to see if he would object. But right now, Bogo was too preoccupied playing the words he had heard through his head.

**_Yeah that's him…_ **

**_Yeah that's him…_ **

**_Yeah that's him…_ **

"Exhibit number three."

Zeke changed the displayed image to that of a satellite map with a red dot.

"This is the signal the beacon of the cruiser officer Wilde and Hopps were using on duty the day before the explosion. As you can see, it was parked for a good twenty minutes in Mr. Big's driveway. Were you aware chief Bogo that Hopps and Wilde had visited Mr. Big on duty that day?"

"I… well no but they were relieved of duty before they had the chance to write their report that day since they were involved in an accident."

"Hmm… And do you not find it suspicious that they were able to park a POLICE cruiser there so casually?"

"No. As I have explained, the ZPD is already aware of Hopps involvement with the Bigs."

"Yes, and my police friends come to my house in cruiser and uniform all the time. Especially when I'm busy running the largest drug trafficking network in all of Zootopia." Zeke said sarcastically.

Not hearing a reply from Bogo, Zeke smiled and pushed on.

"And finally we come to exhibit number four…"

Zeke pressed another button on the remote and the screen turned into static before settling onto a paused video. On the frozen image, Bogo saw a raid team entirely made out of wolves.

"These images are from a raid my team effectuated two nights ago on officer Wilde's residence."

"You did a raid on one of my officer's flat without telling me!?"

"As is my right, yes. It was approved by the head of IA of course."

Without anymore fanfare, Zeke pressed play and the video took life.

There was a team of wolf swat just in front of what must have been Wilde's front door. After a signal, the team busted the door open and stormed the place. There were shouts and orders thrown at the empty apartment while the armed wolves filled it. once it was clear that the place was unoccupied, a signal was given and the camera mammal was allowed to enter the apartment. What appeared on the screen next shocked everyone in the room.

On the kitchen counter was splayed a makeshift bomb workshop…

"As you can see, all the elements necessary to make the type of bomb which destroyed a wing of precinct one were present in officer Wilde's apartment…"

When nobody opposed, Zeke gave a toothy grin.

"I rest my case…"

But something was wrong…

Something was terribly, terribly wrong and Bogo knew it.

Wilde's apartment…

But it couldn't be. Hopps had told him a few days ago that her and Wilde were changing living arrangements and had decided to become roommates but, being so busy, Bogo didn't have the opportunity to updates their personal files which meant…

Things began to fall into place. Little flaws in Zeke's theory became more apparent and the evidences more questionable.

Something was wrong. So, so wrong…

Previously, Hopps had been staying at Wilde's place because her's was undergoing renovations but that too was made off record. If they had truly been responsible then surely she would have taken the time to get rid of the evidences.

Something was very wrong…

The files would have shown that Wilde would have been the only one living there though and with him grounded at the hospital, the apartment should have been empty. Of course, it was the case after Hopps had moved out into their new place. But again, if they intended to stop renting this one why leave a bomb workshop?

Wrong, it was wrong…

But that meant that the video, video of a raid done after Hopps had moved out, was… it was…

Everything was wrong…

And Wilde's ZMB account… Didn't Hopps and Wilde tell him that Mr. Clawson, the CEO of the ZMB, was a suspect?

Nothing was right…

Hopps and Wilde were being framed… And he couldn't prove it…

The kangaroo leading the group of three rose from his seat after a brief chat with his colleagues.

"After debate, we have found that the evidences presented against officer Hopps and officer Wilde were sufficient to justify issuing an arrest warrant against them. Chief Bogo you will be tasked with arresting the now former officer Hopps and Wilde. This assembly is dismissed."

The room fractured into a multitude of different conversation about what had just transpired.

"Ch-Chief..?"

Bogo turned to look down at Clawhauser who was looking back at him with worry filled eyes.

"What happens now?" The cheetah asked.

"Officially… I have 24 hours to attempt an arrest. I intend to give them every one of them."

"Chief Bogo!" Called another voice.

Mayor Trotter approached the large buffalo, panting from the exertion the short walk required from his old body.

"Something is wrong isn't it?" Asked the mayor.

Bogo looked around and weighed his words.

"Not everything seems to fit…"

The mayor closed the distance between them and leaned to Bogo's hear.

"I think something is going on in this city." Whispered the old stallion. "Something big, way above any of us. Odd incidents keep happening, files seems to mysteriously disappear in city hall without anyone remembering what they contained… I think we're being puppeted."

"Sir…" Whispered Bogo in turn. "Do you have anything that could prove it?"

"No but even though I might be old, I'm not blind. Something is going on and I can see it. So can you I believe."

Bogo gave a short nod before whispering again.

"I'll be on the lookout. If you see anything suspicious on your side, call me."

And with that Bogo left, determined to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zeke walked towards the three gathered kangaroos. He stopped before them and made sure no one was in hearing distance of them.

"Ad maius bonum, brothers."

"Ad maius bonum." Answered the three kangaroos simultaneously.

"You did a good job there Mr. Wolf." Said the leading one.

"Thank you. I assume the judge has already been chosen."

"Yes, and the jury too."

"Perfect. The boss will be delighted to know that..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaaaaaand… shit hits the fan!
> 
> Turns out framing people is harder than I thought. I had such a hard time trying to piece everything together and make it flow correctly. This chapter is nowhere near as good as I wish it would but I had to release it eventually so we could move on. We're now just getting into the meat of act 3 and I can promise you it will be filled with action. Exams are going to pop up from time to time so the wait in between chapters may vary.
> 
> So what did you think? Am I being too hard with myself or is it as bad as I think it is? Leave a comment and, even though I don't believe I deserve them I'm still going to beg for it, favorite/kudo and follow... please :(


	27. The chase begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, I know. A long time for a small chapter but in my defense, I was busy. Busy doing what you ask. Well there was the occasional exam here and there but I've also been working on a new story! It's called Resistance and the first chapter is already out so go check it out. It's a Roman Empire AU and I'm very excited to see how it'll turn out. I think I really got better at writing since the start of Bunny and Wilde so this story should be of better quality than this one (It should also have more fluff and romance). There's no doubt that it's going to make updates for this story coming less frequently but I think that with the other story to keep you waiting, it's going to be worth it.
> 
> Anyway, here's the new chapter.

 

Knock knock!

"Come in." Called Nick from where he was lying in his hospital bed.

The door opened and Judy walked in with a box in her paws.

"Hey carrots! Back so soon, were you already missing me?"

"I just forgot to bring something for you this morning." She said while closing the door behind her.

Once the door was closed, she peered out of its window to make sure McHorn wasn't looking at them. Once she was satisfied that he wouldn't hear or see them, she turned back to Nick and hastily opened the box.

"Nick, we don't have much time."

* * *

"Chief Bogo!" Called the mayor while crossing the room.

As the chief turned to face the mayor, Clawhauser retreated himself without being seen.

He simply couldn't believe what had been said. Judy and Nick would never have done this, no matter what they said. He didn't know if the chief would believe they were innocent, but he did and he wouldn't let his best friends be arrested for something they didn't do.

As the chief and the mayor started a conversation out of earshot, Clawhauser took his phone out and started texting Judy.

* * *

"What do you mean we don't have much time?"

Not bothering to answer, Judy took out a harness and a long rope from the box she had brought.

"Why do you have that? Carrots will you tell me what is going on?"

Judy stopped in her tracks and looked at him.

"We've been set up…"

"Set up?"

"Clawhauser texted me a few hours ago after the end of the hearing, IA is accusing us of being responsible for the bombing and the death of Coon and Porkins."

"What?! How? Why?"

"I don't know and I don't intend to wait and find out."she said, while opening the window of the room and looking out from it. "Clawhauser told me Bogo had 24 hours to arrest us but I'll bet you McHorn was instructed not to let us leave the room."

"And you want to run?"

"Yes."

"Carrots, even if we are innocent resisting arrest is still a felony."

"What other choice do we have? If they managed to convince IA we are guilty they're going to convince the jury too. If we get arrested we'll live the rest of our lives in a super-max for terrorism. The only option we have is to flee and prove our innocence."

Nick remained silent as he thought things over. She wasn't wrong, but he still didn't like the idea of resisting arrest.

"So how are we supposed to escape?"

"By going out of the window."

"Carrots, we're on the third floor…"

"That's why I brought this."

She walked back to Nick's side and held up the harness.

"I'm going to have to get you in that…"

"Hum… Carrots, I don't know if you're aware, but I'm naked under the hospital gown."

Judy simply cocked an eyebrow.

"Nothing I haven't seen."

"I know that but those things are not exactly reputed to be comfortable and that's with clothes on. This is going to be horrible."

"Nick… You're paralyzed from the waist down."

"Not completely! I can still feel the most important part."

"Then I'll just have to kiss the pain away won't I…"

At this Nick's ears perked up.

"W-What?"

Judy didn't bother to answer and instead simply lifted his gown before he could protest. She took one his legs and slipped it through the harness, then did the same for the other. Nick gulped as Judy mercilessly slid the harness up into place and tightened it around his waist.

"Okay, so the harness is on, and really uncomfortable, now what? You throw me over your shoulder and carry me across town hoping no one will notice the bunny carrying the crippled fox in a hospital gown?"

"I got a friend of ours to give us a lift…" She said, while lifting him up bridal style.

Judy then hooked one end of the rope to Nick's harness, and she tied the other to a handle bar that was fixed on the room's wall.

"What frie-aweee!" Nick yelped as Judy let him go and the hardness pressed against Nick's groin.

"Why don't you look for yourself?" Replied Judy as pushed Nick through the window and began lowering him using the rope.

Nick looked down at the parking two stories below him and saw the familiar van with the even more familiar fox waiting next to it.

"Finnick?"

Hearing his name, the small tan fox looked up only to meet the sight of an orange and furry moon.

Immediately he looked away with a curse.

"Urgh for fuck sake you could have put pants on!"

"Sorry buddy but it's kind of hard when you can't move your legs."

"No excuses! There is nothing strong enough to get that image out of my head!"

"Instead of complaining why don't you help me get out of this before I start turning blue."

Finnick made a gagging noise before he approached the suspended fox. He lowered him into an old dirty wheelchair before he detached the harness from its rope. He then pushed Nick up the ramp that lead to the back of his van while he called out to the open window.

"Okay officer Tut-tut, your foxy romeo is down and safe."

Judy made sure that her end of the rope was solidly tied before she swiftly grabbed it with both paw and slid down. Once she reached the bottom, she turned and quickly got in the back of the van with Nick.

"Wait, where did you get a wheelchair?"

"Old hustle…" Answered both foxes in unison.

"A poor quadriplegic helpless fox tends to earn pity." Said Nick.

"And cash!" Added Finnick, as he got in the driver seat. "So, where to?"

Both foxes looked at the silent bunny expectantly.

"I eh… I didn't really think this far."

"You gotta be kidding me!" Shouted Finnick, his deep voice booming around them.

"We have nowhere to go!" She defended herself.

"Drive to the old safe house." Ordered Nick.

Finnick nodded and started to drive while Judy remained confused.

"Safe house?"

"One of big's safe house, we used in the past. I'm sure he won't mind. We should probably contact him to see if we can ask for refuge. It would be useful if we could have one of his polar bears deliver food seeing how we won't be able to buy it ourselves now that we're fugitives."

Making a mental note to contact Fru Fru later, Judy crawled over to the corner of the van, where Nick was seated, she climbed onto his lap and pressed herself against him, resting her head against his chest. As she listened to his beating heart, Nick draped his arms around her, holding her close while he slowly stroked her ears.

Judy remained silent as their new situation sank in. They couldn't show themselves in public anymore, they couldn't count on most of their friends back at the ZPD but what distraught her the most was her parents. What were they going to think tomorrow when the news announced that their daughter was a terrorist and a fugitive. She wanted to call them to tell them she was fine and that she was innocent but she knew that IA and homeland could monitor their calls. If she called them she would give Nick and herself away. There was nothing she could do about it.

"Hey Carrots…"

Judy looked up at the fox holding her, Nick had seen the look on her face and knew exactly what was going on inside her head. When she met his green, worried eyes he gave her a little squeeze to make sure she understood he was there for her.

"It's going to be alright."

"How?"

She wasn't wrong, all the odds were against them, they were only two against the world. The old Nick would have probably given up, but that was before he had met Judy, and Nick knew that as long as they were together they'd never give up.

"By having each other…" He said softly.

The affectionate smile that crept up on Judy's face, made his heart flutter. He leaned in as much as he could and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss wasn't heated or as passionate as those they had shared before, but it was definitely the sweetest. As they held one another, they both knew that the only thing they would ever need was each other.

"Get a room you two."

"Shut up Finn…"

* * *

Zeke walked down the hospital's corridor, two of his wolves by his side. His steps were quick, the kind only a very annoyed and busy mammal would take. As he approached the room, he could see the ZPD officers that had arrived earlier. With a quick stride, the gigantic wolf approached the cape buffalo, who was talking with a rhino.

"What happened?" He asked dryly.

Bogo sighed and gestured for the rhino to leave them, as the McHorn walked away, Bogo turned to the ghostly white wolf and held up his piercing gaze.

"They're gone."

"No shit! What I meant to say is. What. HAPPENED? How do you let two terrorists escape when you have an officer guarding at least one of them at all time?"

"Hopps came to visit him earlier this afternoon. She never left the room through the door, but when we finally came in for the arrest they had gone through the window."

"So you're telling me a crippled fox escaped through the window… ON THE THIRD FLOOR!" He screamed the last part before pinching his muzzle in annoyance. "As you seem to be incapable of making the simplest of arrests, I will be taking charge from now on."

"Hold on…"

"Save your breath chief, Hopps and Wilde are terrorists and fugitives now which puts them under the jurisdiction of The ZBI, ZIA and Homeland security, all of which have agreed to put me in charge of this mammal hunt. They are now some of Zootopia's most wanted and far above your paycheck so I expect you to let me do my job undisturbed, am I clear?"

"Yes…" He punctuated slowly, narrowing his eyes and huffing out in annoyance.

"Sir." One of the wolf Zeke had brought along interrupted the staring contest going between the chief and IA investigator. "We found security cam footage of the parking lot… I think you're going to want to see this…"

Zeke gave Bogo one last hard glare before turning around and following the other wolf. Bogo watched them walk away as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He quickly dialed a number and brought the phone to his head. After three rings the mammal on the other side picked up.

"Chief Bogo…" Said the mayor's voice. "Do you have anything new?"

"I just had a run in with Zeke Wolf. Apparently he is now in charge of tracking down Hopps and Wilde. Care to fill me in?"

"Sorry but my hooves are tied. Legally, ZBI are the ones in charge, there is nothing I can do about it."

"But Zeke is IA not ZBI."

"They got him in as a consultant under the claim that his knowledge gained during the IA investigation on the officers was necessary. Apparently they also decided to give him every green light too for some reason, it's the same with all the other agencies."

"Great, so we can just add the ZBI, ZIA and Homeland on the list of suspects along with IA. Any others I should also know about?"

"They got the NSA to look out for any communication from them so we have to worry about them too."

"Just great. I also imagine that they're going to make the findings of IA public to some extent so we also have the general population after them. At this rate they're going to get caught before we have the chance to do anything."

"I Think I can pull some string, convince ZBI to let precinct 1 in since the explosion targeted you. This way if you give him the title of the precinct's lead investigator you could assign another officer as his partner and keep track on him."

"I don't like the idea of Zeke being the lead investigator."

"I know but it's the only thing we have."

"I'll think about it. I have to go, there's a few things that need taken care of."

With that, Bogo ended the call and walked towards where Zeke was standing. He was watching the security feed on an i-pawd that one of his wolf was holding.

"We can't actually see anyone in the van but it was the only one to enter and leave in the time frame Hopps and Wilde could have escaped." Said the other wolf.

Bogo looked at the video feed and saw the van. He recognized it as the one described in Hopps' report of the nighthowler case, but he held back this information.

"The image is of too poor quality to make the plates out..." Stated Zeke. "The lab might be able to figure it out though, send them a copy of the video."

"Yes sir." Said the other wolf before he walked away.

Realizing that Bogo was watching over his shoulder, the albino wolf turned around to face him.

"Just for your information chief; I intend to bring Hopps and Wilde to justice, no matter what the cost. So help me God you'd better stay out of my way…"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… I'm thinking that the next chapter or the one after that might be slightly more… mature if you know what I mean (of course you do). It's been awhile since the last juicy moment and I think a bit of fun for our two protagonist is well deserved and a bit overdue. But while you wait eagerly for that sinful AF smut why don't you go check out my new story: Resistance. I'm sure you'll love it.


	28. Making up for lost time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'd like to address the rumors according to which I am keeping my editor locked up in my basement. I'll have you know that these are complete lies made up by twisted people to ruin my reputation. Also, in the hypothetical case that I did keep my editor as my personal grammar slave and that he did slip in a secret message in my last chapter to ask for coke, I think that (still hypothetically) he was asking for Coca-cola so if you could please stop sending cocaine that would be appreciated.
> 
> Otherwise, I have a good news and a bad news. I'll keep the bad news for the note at the end of the chapter but the good one is that this chapter is extra long and had smut included! For those who'd like to keep their soul intact however I've marked the beginning and end of the saucy part with: =+=+=+=+=+=+=+= This way, you can just skip it and read the plot important parts.
> 
> Anyway, Enjoy!

 

Finnick made sure nobody was around before he pulled his van over to the side of the abandoned building. The old safe-house used to be a toy factory back in the 80's before the company who owned it went bankrupt. It had remained abandoned until Mr. Big had bought it for one of his "legitimate business". In the time Nick and him had worked for the crime boss, they had often used it as a meet up point. They continued to use it even after Nick had crossed the shrew with one of his stupid scams since they were pretty much the only ones who used it anyways. In fact Nick had even set up shop under a bridge nearby until the Bunny came along.

Finn grabbed the two grocery bags that we're on the passenger seat and headed out towards the building. As he approached the entrance, he could hear the muffled sound of giggling. He rolled his eyes and sighed, those two were at it again.

"Yo, make sure ya got your pants on this time!" He shouted as he opened the front door.

Thankfully they were both still fully clothed.

Judy was seated on Nick's lap, her arms hooked around his neck, when Finnick walked in. The red fox was still in a wheelchair but didn't seem to mind it much since he was staring at the bunny in front of him with googly eyes and a dope smile. Man he was getting soft…

"A 'hi Finnick. How are ya doin Finnick? Thanks for getting grocery for us again Finnick. wouldn't be too much."

"Sowry whitlle guy did we huwrt you feewings?" mocked Nick.

"Quit it or I'll bite your face off!"

"Be nice Nick." Judy said as she punched him in the arm.

At least the bunny seemed to be on his side…

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry."

"Ya better be. I've been doin yo' grocery for two weeks already, this can't go on for long."

"It's not like we're happy to be here bud, but we can't just go out in broad daylight."

"I know that ya dummy! All I'm sayin' is that maybe you two fluff heads should focus on gettin' out of this mess instead of playing kissy-kissy!"

"But how?" whined Judy. "We've been here for two weeks and we still have no leads whatsoever."

"I don't care, just do your police thingy majigy so I don't have to babysit ya." Finnick said after he dropped the two grocery bags. He then immediately turned around and left the building.

"He does have a point." Said Judy. "We can't just stay in here for ever. If we want to prove we're innocent then we need to do something."

"But how? We have no resources, no backup and no leads."

"We dealt with all this and a 48 hours constraint before we can deal with this now."

Nick smiled. One of the things he loved about Judy was her determination, no matter how bad the situation would get she would never give up. In a way she reminded him of himself when he was younger, before the city had crushed him. When he first met her, he saw nothing but a small naive bunny, but now she was so much more to him.

"I love you…" He whispered, pressing his forehead against her own.

"Not as much as I do slick."

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh-unh."

"Prove it."

Judy smiled and moved in to kiss him...

The sound of a throat being cleared made them turn to the entrance where they saw Finnick glaring at them.

"Forgot my keys he stated before grabbing them and backing away while never breaking his stare.

"Alright…" Judy said once he was gone. "Let's go through this. The first thing we need is a lead, anyone who could hold information…"

"Perry obviously is in hiding so it's not like we could just walk up to his door step and start asking questions."

"And why not?"

"Well for one he doesn't have a doorstep, and he also tried to kill us remember."

"Well we found him once, we can find him again. Plus last time you saw him he was rather friendly from what you told me. Maybe he'll cooperate."

"Weren't you the one that wanted me to sleep with a shotgun after that?"

"It was a metaphor."

"Right, a metaphorical shotgun sorry."

Judy lightly punched him in the arm.

"It's not like we have a choice. Anybody else we try to talk to is immediately going to call the police."

"Yeah, he's just going to kill us on sight, that's so much better."

"Well do you have a better idea?"

"... No…"

"That's what I thought."

"But how are we going to find him anyway?"

"Same as last time no?"

Nick shook his head, "That's not going to work. With all the heat we brought on him he's going to be laying low for a while. Probably shacked up in a safe-house of his own."

"And do you happen to know these safe-houses?"

"Nobody happens to know them Carrots, that's why they're safe."

"Well he has got to have some trail leading to them. What if we checked the database to see what property he owns."

"I doubt he owns them under his real name."

"What about a vehicle?"

"I don't even know if he has one. After all these years I still don't know how he travels around."

There was a moment of silence in which both of them thought about their options.

"THE HOSPITAL!" Judy screeched.

"Ouch Carrots. Don't do that."

"The hospital Nick! It's the only place we know for sure that Perry went. If we could get access to the security footage of the night he broke into your room then we might be able to track him down."

"Except that you're forgetting Bogo already had Wolford go over the recordings and he didn't find anything. Plus the tape were probably already wiped by whoever set us up."

"Not if they didn't find anything…"

"What do you mean?"

"Well if Wolford didn't find anything, maybe they thought it wasn't worth it."

"That's a big 'if' there Carrots."

"Maybe but it's still worth a shot."

"That's besides the point. ZPD protocol states that all video surveillance recordings must be requisitioned, which means that the tapes are all going to be at the precinct. I don't know about you but I don't like our chances of getting to them."

"You're right, we don't stand a chance…"

"Thank you Carrots for finally coming to your Sen-"

"Someone else on the other paw…"

"Eh, Carrots we're not sending Finnick to brake in the precinct."

"I wasn't talking about him neither."

"Then who?" Asked Nick confused.

* * *

"Clawhauser!" The chief's voice boomed.

The portly cheetah looked up from the latest gazel app to meet Bogo's stare.

"Clawhauser, get yourself together for God's sake!"

"Yes chief. I'll-"

A buzz from the cellphone in his paws interrupted Clawhauser who promptly looked down to see what it was.

"Clawhauser focus!"

"Sorry sir."

"That ass hat Zeke is going to be here any moment now you do know what this means?"

The receptionist slowly nodded.

"You have no idea do you…"

"Sorry."

Bogo sighed. some years ago he would have probably have fired Clawhauser on the spot, but the chief had grown attached to the cheetah and so did the other officers. The reality was that while not a great receptionist, Clawhauser had acted as the defacto precincts' psychologist for everyone. He was the moral support for everyone here and Bogo knew that firing him would actually do more harm than good for the entire police force.

"Since Zeke has been assigned to the Hopps and Wilde case, he gets the brand new investigation office. Therefore, we're going to have an IA agent sticking around here for a while and I can promise you that if he sees you messing around he's going to file a report and you might just lose your job. So PLEASE, try to act like a normal mammal."

"Yes chief!"

Clawhauser's phone buzzed again and the cheetah looked down to it once more.

"Clawhauser!"

"Sorry sir. it's a reflex."

"Who even is it?"

"NOBODY!" He answered too quickly.

Bogo narrowed his eyes. Ben had always been a terrible liar and he could tell that something was going on.

"Well tell them to stop texting you while you're at work, it's unprofessional."

The cheetah waited for Bogo to leave and be out of sight before looked back to the screen of his phone.

J: Ben we need you…

J: It's not going to be easy but we have no other choice.

He took a moment to think before he started to tap his reply.

B: What can I help with?

* * *

Bogo was walking down the corridors towards his office when his own cell started ringing. He looked to see who was the caller before sidestepping into an empty corridor.

"Sir?"

"I filled all the exchange s you asked though I'm still not sure why you wanted it." Said the mayor.

"If Zeke gets the post of precinct one's chief investigator it'll mean I'll be able to assign him a partner."

"And you think he'll accept?"

"He won't have the choice if you made gave him the post."

There was a moment of silence as the mayor mulled it over.

"Chief Bogo, we know there's a mole in your service, can we really trust anyone to report Zeke's action to you truthfully?"

"No, but we don't have another choice."

"fine, but make sure you choose someone you trust."

"I will."

"Do you have any idea who could be behind this? Anyone acting strange?"

Bogo looked back from where he came towards the reception area.

"Well… No nothing."

"What is it?"

"It's stupid, nothing to worry about."

"Chief Bogo, you have to tell me."

"My receptionist was acting strange this morning but Clawhauser would never hurt a fly… Well he does eat BuggaBurgers but you get what I mean."

"We can't trust anyone Bogo not even him. Keep an eye on him will you?"

"Yes sir. And has anything strange happened on your end?"

"Apart from every department head from ZIA, ZBI, Homeland and Internal Affairs circling me like vultures, no."

"You think they're involved?"

"I think this goes way deeper than we ever thought… But I have nothing strong. It could be just them reacting to having our city suffer a terrorist attack on the police force but you never know."

Bogo heard the sound of pawsteps, most likely from one of his officers, coming his way.

"I have to go. I'll let you know how my meeting with Zeke went."

"Goodbye chief."

"Goodbye."

* * *

Clawhauser tapped furiously on his keyboard as he went through the database.

"Got it!" He whispered as he found the file on the hospital's break in.

He tried to access it but was denied entry. Being the receptionist limited the number of files he had access to. If he wanted those videotape he would need someone who had accessed. But who would-

"What are you doing?"

Clawhauser Jumped at the voice coming from in front of him and quickly hit escape, closing the window.

"Nothing!" He blurted out.

It's only then did the cheetah registered who was in front of him. Wolford was leaning against the reception desk, eyeing Clawhauser suspiciously.

"Ben, were you looking at Gazelle fan-art again? Because if you were, Bogo is going to be pissed."

"What? No, I- I wasn't doing that."

"Then what?"

"Nothing."

"Come on dude, you know you can trust me right?"

Clawhauser posed for a moment. Could he trust Wolford? The wolf was the mammal with whom he gossiped the most and yet not once had he let out a secret he had asked him to keep. Wolford also happened to be the one who had looked over the hospital's security recordings in the first place which meant he probably still had access.

"Wolford?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's say I needed your help for something but you couldn't tell anybody about it, would you help me?"

"Of course, what's going- Wait you're not going to ask me to bury a body are you?"

"What? No!"

"Okay good, for a moment I thought you might have run over a squirrel or something. What can I help you with buddy?"

"Okay so… here's the situation…"

* * *

Bogo quickly pocketed his cell phone before turning around to get out of the corridor. Only, as soon as he turned he was faced with officer Wolford, almost bumping into him.

"Sorry chief."

"Wait, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing! What are you doing here?"

Later, Wolford would slap himself for answering something so stupid.

"Nothing!" Quickly mirrored the chief. "Aren't you supposed to be on patrol?"

"Yeah, I uh… I just wanted to go over something before I left."

"In the server room?" Asked Bogo looking to the only room this hallway lead to.

"Yeah well… I just wanted to make sure I didn't forget something in my last report you know? Nothing important, it's just… I wanted to be sure."

"What is going on with people today?" Bogo thought. He could he really not trust any of his officers? What if Wolford was the conspirator? Could there be more than one?

"Alright well… don't waste time. You've got a patrol to do."

"I'll be quick sir."

With that Bogo left for his office, but not without giving one last glance at his officer who just happened to be glancing back…

* * *

Bogo's office door flew open as someone barged in. He didn't need to look up to know who it was. Any of his officers would have knocked and waited to be invited in before entering.

"What can I do for you investigator?" Asked Bogo without ever looking away from the reports sprawled on his desk.

"Is this some kind of joke."

Bogo smiled and finally indulged in looking up. In front of him was the enormous and angry looking albino wolf.

"I don't make jokes very often but I would hope than when I do they would be funnier than this. Please, take a seat Mr. Wolf."

"What are you playing at chief?" Asked Zeke while sitting across the desk nevertheless.

"Me? Nothing. I simply wish to help you in this case by granting you access to the precinct's resources. The mayor thought it was a great idea."

"I don't need you're resources."

"But you have them nonetheless."

"You are planning something."

"As I said, I'm only trying to help you and I didn't see any better way than by making you the precinct's lead investigator… until the case is closed of course."

"Listen to me. If you try in anyway to interfere with this investigation I'll have you drag in court and convicted of obstruction."

"I would never dream of doing such a thing. Now, I believe we have other matters to discuss."

"We do?"

"Yes, namely assigning you a partner."

"I already have a whole team of experts, I don't need one of your officers."

"While I am sure you have everything under control, protocols still require you be assigned a partner."

"I-"

"It's not a matter of debate." Bogo cut. "You'll be working alongside officer Bushbuck from now on. I also expect regular reports on my desk by the end of your shift understood?"

Zeke's pout only made Bogo smile.

"Cheer up lad, at least you get the investigation office, it's brand spanking new. You're dismissed."

And just like that Bogo returned to his officers' reports, not bothering to pay any attention to the wolf. As he heard him get up and leave the office, Bogo smiled to himself once more.

"It's good to be chief…" He muttered.

Bogo stayed still a moment to admire his work before he decided to get back to it. As much fun as playing with that pup was, it wasn't the only thing on his to do list. He pressed the intercom button and leaned in.

"Clawhauser?"

"Yes chief?"

"Call Bushbuck to my office right away."

"Understood."

Bushbuck was the latest addition to the team. So late in fact that he wasn't even assigned to the precinct when the bomb went off. Which meant that he couldn't have possibly been the traitor. It wasn't long until there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." ordered Bogo.

The rookie antelope did as he was told and entered the office.

"You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes, have a seat please."

Bogo could see in the stress in the young officer's eyes, but didn't let it be known. New recruits were often eager to prove themselves and worried a lot about disappointing their superiors. The officers usually stopped after a few months of service but the elder officers always made sure to get their laughs out of the rookies before then. The only exceptions were Hopps and Wilde; Hopps never stopped trying to prove herself and Wilde had never really cared about what the others thought of him.

"Is there something wrong sir?"

"No no, quite the opposite. I simply wanted to congratulate you."

"Congratulate me?"

"Yes, for your new promotion!"

"My… But sir, I've only been here for a week and a half."

"And what a week that was! Seeing how well your patrols went down convinced me to give you the post of investigator."

"I… Thank you sir?"

"Thank yourself son. I also have a special assignment for you if you don't mind."

"Of course not, anything I can do to help." Answered the antelope eagerly.

"Wonderful…" Said Bogo smiling.

* * *

"Here you go… Easy does it…" Softly said the doe.

Judy was standing just behind Nick, ready to catch him if he fell. The fox for his part was supporting himself using his two arms and the flimsy railings of abandoned crowd control barriers they had found in the building. Nick slowly shimmied his way down the rails, applying a small amount of pressure on his legs with each of his movements.

Nick's condition had improved in the last few days but not as much as he would have liked. Without the constant work Barney put him through back at the hospital, Nick's legs were healing slower than what they would have if he had stayed which is why Judy had decided to pick up where he left off and become his new trainer.

"That's it… you can do it."

The way Nick's arms were shaking was an obvious sign of how much he was struggling to keep himself up. He was grunting and moaning all the way until finally his arms let out and he began to fall.

Judy caught him before he could hit the ground and slowly lowered him down.

"God damn it!" Nick cursed, angrily shoving one of the railings away.

"Hey Nick..."

Judy tried to sooth him but he refused to look at her.

"Nick look at me." She forced him to look at her in the eyes as she grabbed each side of his face. "It's alright."

"No it's not alright Carrots, I'm still useless for crying out loud!"

"Nick, look at all the progress you made in the past few days, you can't deny that you're getting better!"

"But not fast enough."

"Hey, it's going to take the time, but we'll make it in the end… together." She said while lightly squeezing his paw.

Nick smiled at her and wondered, not for the first time, what he had done to deserve her.

"Come on let's try again." She said while extending her paw to him. He grabbed it with his own, a smile spread across his face as she helped him up.

* * *

Living in the abandoned building wasn't always easy. The building had never been meant to house anyone that's why it was hard to do the everyday tasks that required a home. For example, right now Nick was cooking or at least the closest thing they could manage to cooking.

They had converted an old incinerator chimney into a makeshift oven. Nick would use the cub scout tricks he had learned when he was young to light a fire in the chimney and they would hold whatever needed cooking over the fire.

Judy for her part was changing herself in the converted bedroom. It was actually the old manager's office in which they had put a mattress. It wasn't exactly luxury but at least they could sleep on it.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you come over here for a moment?"

Nick disengaged from what he was doing and turned around to head towards the bedroom. He pushed his wheelchair along until he reached his destination.

**[=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=]**

When Nick turned the corner to the room they used as a bedroom, he was met by a heavenly sight. Judy lay there, completely naked and with a wicked grin, on the mattress in front of him. She slowly stretched herself, purposefully exposing her thighs and letting out a small moan in the goal to coax him to her. She was making a show of her body and Nick was completely awestruck.

They had both been very eager to make up for the lost time these past two weeks But no matter how many times they had been together, the sight of her naked never failed to make him lose his cool.

"Well hello there you." Judy's lustful voice reached his ears.

"H-hi…"

she herself tried not to cower behind her ears. Nick's reaction didn't help either as his hungry looking stare only made her want to hide. Still she appreciated it. It was nice knowing that you were wanted and the fact that this particular fox was the source of that want only made her giddier.

Still, she pushed on with her act…

"See something you like?"

"uh-huh."

"Well why don't you come over here and get it?"

Without even thinking, Nick tried to stand up and walk to her. Of course, when that didn't happen he realized he was still in his wheelchair.

"Umh… a little help?"

Instead of answering, Judy simply turned around to lay on her front facing away from him. She then slowly raised her hips in the air to give Nick a full view of her exposed rear. She looked over her shoulder at him, biting her bottom lip and wiggling her small tail in that way she knew drove him nuts.

Nick immediately knew what was going on the moment he saw her looking at him with that sly and lustful grin.

"Oh you evil bunny…"

This time Judy couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped her. She kept teasing him by stretching her arms in front of her and pushing her rear even further.

Nick looked around for something to help him but couldn't find anything. So instead he rolled the wheelchair as close as he could to the mattress and to Judy before putting the brakes on. Nick grabbed each of the armrest firmly and pushed himself up with his arms. When he stood in a position he was comfortable with, he carefully let go of the chair. Nick was able to remain standing without the support of anything else for about five seconds before his legs gave out and he started falling. Judy caught him before he could hit the ground and slowly lowered him down. Not that it really mattered, since he would have fallen on the mattress, but it was still nice seeing that this way he got to feel her perky breast being pushed against his side as she caught him.

"Nick…" She said, as she laid him on his back. "Do you realize you were just standing?"

Truth be told, with the delicious looking bunny sprawled out in front of him, Nick hadn't fully thought about what he had done. But the fact was that for a moment there he had stood up without any help. It might not have been for long but still, he had used his legs.

"Guess I only needed the right motivation…"

"Hmmm. Well I think such a feat deserves a reward don't you?" Judy whispered into his ear.

Before he could answer, she put a leg on each side of his hips and straddled him. She then leaned down and pressed her lips against his own. Her paws went to each side of his face while his began on her back and lowered down to rest against her butt. He squeezed each cheeks firmly which made Judy moan in his mouth. Before long they had both started to hump each other. Judy could feel Nick's length hardening in his pants. With each movement their hips made, the bulge would brush against her already wet mound, begging to be allowed entry. Their breaths were getting more shallow and Judy felt as if she might cum simply from the petting and kissing.

Judy pulled away from the heated kiss and yanked at Nick's shirt.

"This needs to come off now!"

Not one to question her, Nick quickly scrambled with the offending piece of clothing and promptly passed it over his head before throwing it away. Now fur brushed against fur and Nick could feel Judy's breast even better. He couldn't help himself and so he placed one of his paws against each of her mounds. He began to kneed them firmly yet softly the way he knew she liked it.

"Ah! Nick!" Judy gasped and moaned while she herself brought her paws to rest against his muscular chest. By now she was so horny she was dripping onto him and soaking his pants.

Encouraged by her cries, Nick grabbed her sides and dragged her closer so he could reach her nipples with his mouth. He started lapping at her right breast and then her left as he kept fondling them. He would swirl his tongue around and over her hard nipples before grabbing them with his mouth. He sucked at them and ever so gently nipped them. He would occasionally tug which would earn him even louder moans from the bunny on top of him.

Judy for her part had lost all coherent thought as soon as his mouth had made contact with her nipples. Her paws were grabbing the fur on the back of his head and pushing him harder against her chest. She rocked her hips harder against him as he brought her closer and closer to release. It's only when she was on the verge of orgasm did a thought cross her mind and she forced him away, her body complaining all the way through the movement.

"Nick…" She panted with difficulty. "It's your reward not mine, remember?"

He was about to protest but Judy quickly silenced him with a kiss on the lips. she then followed by kissing him down the jaw line and to his neck. Nick gave a low predatory growl in response which made Judy want to press her thighs together.

She then moved her kisses even farther south, down his chest until she reach the limit of his pants. She could see from here that every time she would kiss him his member would twitch. Judy slowly dragged her paws over the bulge in his pants and began to stoke him through his clothes. she could tell he was eager for what was coming next by the way his eyes closed and the moan he tried, but failed, to hold back. Judy smiled and began to unzip him in a painfully slow manner. she then unbuttoned him dragged his pants down until all that was left on him were his boxers. The bulge was even more visible with only his underwear to cover him. She began to slowly stroke him again, this time with only the small layer of cloth between them.

She found the smell coming out from this part of him enticing. It was a heavier musk than his normal smell and each time she would catch a whiff it would make her core burn even more. She knew it was the smell of her horny mate and she loved it. she got closer to his covered member to be able to smell even more. As she was there, she looked up to her mate before giving one long lick through his boxers. His length twitched furiously before Nick whined and trusted his hips up involuntarily. Judy decided that she had teased the poor fox enough for now and pulled down his boxers.

As soon as it was gone, Nick's shaft sprang up into the air, swollen and hard.

Judy blushed profusely. She was not used to being so forward. Judy quickly grabbed the red flesh and started stroking him at a relatively fast pace. The little sounds of pleasure Nick was emitting gave Judy the rest of the courage she needed to push on.

The fact was that she had never done anything like this before. Fortunately, the book Finnick had gifted her had a whole section on oral made for people who had never tried it before. To say that she had studied it was… an understatement.

She began by licking him from base to top in a slow fashion. She then brought her attention to the head by swirling her small tongue around it. The taste surprised her. It was neither good nor bad as she was afraid but the reactions it got out of Nick definitely made it all worth it. She loved how every movement of her tongue over him was able to turn him into a thrashing heap of moans and grunts.

Judy then took the whole of Nick's head into her mouth and hummed around it. She kept her tongue at work while she slowly lowered on him. She knew Nick was far too big for her to go down on him completely but she still made an effort to reach as far as she could. She was about halfway down before she had to pull back up. She let his dick out of her mouth with a pop before giving it a kiss and resuming to stroke him.

"So, how was I?" She asked while keeping him hard with one of her paws.

"You were… That was… Oh… It was amazing!"

"Good…" Said Judy, smiling from ear to ear. "Because there's plenty more where that came from."

Before Nick could say anything, Judy went down on him again with a vengeance. Where her movement were slow and meticulous before, she now was fast and sloppy but oh so wonderful. She bobbed her head up and down, reaching just above the halfway mark before going back up. The wet sound her mouth made with every passage on his now saliva coated flesh only served to turn the both of them on even more. Judy couldn't help but start fingering herself as she pleased her predator.

For his part, Nick was thrashing his head from left to right. He was unable to focus on anything else other than the wonderful sensation Judy was giving him. He knew that if she kept this up he wouldn't be able to last much longer but he refused to cum before she did.

"Judy…" He called out. "Judy please…"

She was either ignoring him or she couldn't make it out from the rest of his moans. Nick tried to stop her himself but he was having a hard time reaching her with his legs so weak. As he felt the point of no return approaching quickly, Nick grabbed the first thing he could and yanked her away from him. He was about to apologize when he realized that he had just pulled hard on her ears when she let out the loudest moan she had until now. Judy froze and quickly snap her paws to her mouth when she took conscience of her involuntary reaction.

"What was that about?" Nick asked, a smug grin on display.

"I… I don't know."

"Did I do that by pulling on your ears?"

"I… Why did you- hmmm!"

Nick interrupted her by pulling on her ears again but gentler this time. Still it managed to make her moan which only made Nick smile wider.

"Stop it!" She said while slapping his paws away from her ears. "Why did you pull me away?"

"I didn't want to finish before you did."

"Nick, I told you this is about you not about meEEEE! NICK WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" She screamed as Nick suddenly grabbed her by the waist.

He flipped her around and brought her alluring heat to his mouth. Before she knew it, Nick was returning the favor and exploring her with his tongue.

Judy was laying on his bare chest, her head facing away from him and her belly pressed against his. She wanted to be mad at him for grabbing her like that and ruining her plans to make him see stars but it was hard to be mad when she was feeling the things he did to her. His tongue would tease her lips, circling around her center without ever entering. She knew he was purposely teasing her, keeping her away from that sweet release until she begged. Fortunately she found the way to turn the table on him when she looked up to find his still fully erect cock. She slowly crawled towards it, Nick following her with his mouth. As she approached his throbbing dick, he had to let go of her with one of his paw to raise himself with it. It caused Judy to find herself upside down with her fox eating her out. It didn't matter though because she had reached her prize. She grabbed his length with her paw, gave it two or three strokes and then plunged it into her mouth to begin where she had left off.

Nick felt himself being taken in her warm opening again and jolted at the feel. It caused his tongue to shoot out deep inside her which in turn made her moan around him. He knew when she started sucking him off as fast as she could that this was not simple love making anymore, this was a competition. He applied more pressure to her vagina and started to move his tongue faster as both of them were now trying to get the other off before they did.

Normally, Nick would have had the advantage since Judy generally came multiple times before he did but her incredible ministration earlier had him already on edge. He doubled his efforts and brushed her clitoris with his lower teeth as he pumped his large canine tongue in her deeper. He was pleased to see that it actually caused Judy to stop and moan out loud for a moment.

Not one to be out done however, Judy decided to up her game herself. She forced herself to go even farther on him that she did before, ignoring her gag reflex. She also grabbed his already swollen knot with both of her paws and massaged it.

As soon as she had started to pull and tug on his knot, Nick knew this was a loosing fight. There was no way she was going to finish before he did. But the thing was, Nick was a sore loser…

He quickly grabbed her hips and laid back down fully on the mattress, forcing her away from his dick. Just as she was about to protest again, Nick opened his maw and forced her down in his mouth. He closed his mouth on her as tugged forcefully on her ears, forcing her to sit further on his face and her back to ark. The scream that filled the room was one of pure ecstasy as the feeling of his sharp teeth grazing against her sensitive flesh,of his tongue going even deeper inside her and the sensation of him pulling her ears brought her to a crashing orgasm.

She writhed on him for half a minute, her walls clenching on his tongue and pouring juice into his open mouth as his canines scratched her with every involuntarily jerked she made. Once the wave of bliss was over she fell next to him, panting heavily.

"You… Cheated…" She said out of breath.

"It's call a hustle sweet heart."

"You still cheated…"

"And I still won."

"By cheating."

"It's winning nonetheless. And I wonder, does the winner get anything?"

Judy smiled and kissed her fox on the cheek.

"What do you want Mr. Winner?"

"I think you already know…" He whispered while one of his paw traveled down her belly to rub against her wet vagina.

"Hmmm! You're wish is my command…"

With that, Judy got up and straddled Nick's lap. she took his still sensitive flesh in her paw and guided it to her opening.

"Wait." Nick stopped her. "Why don't you… turn around."

Judy looked at him slightly confused. They always made love facing each other and she didn't understand why he would want it a different way now. Still, she trusted him and did as she was told. She turned around and straddled him reverse cowgirl style. she brought his tip to her opening and slowly sank down on him. even after all this time, he was still so big to her. At least she knew not to rush it like their first time.

After a few pumps, she began to get comfortable with his girth. she started speeding up but found this new position to be awkward. Then she realized why Nick had asked her to do it this way when she felt his paw grab her ears again. He forced her to arch her back until the tip of his muzzle was right next to her head.

"The ears really does it for you don't they?" He whispered after she moaned loudly.

Nick then place his other paw on her hips and began to set the pace. His trust were stronger and faster and Judy could already feel herself approaching another orgasm. He was being more forceful and Judy loved it.

"Touch yourself." Nick whispered into her ear again.

"W-what?"

"I said touch yourself!" He ordered again.

The tone with which he said it left no place for her to question it. She immediately brought one paw to her breast and massaged it while the other rubbed her clitoris furiously.

"Oh Nick!"

Judy couldn't keep herself from moaning and screaming with every time he entered her.

"Ah, Nick yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Nick suddenly pulled on her ears even harder which allowed him to grab her throat with his mouth. He could feel her veins pumping under his teeth as he applied just enough pressure to prick her without piercing the skin.

This new angle caused Nick to hit her g-spot with each thrust and it combined with the new sensation on her throat and ears caused her to orgasm another time. She stopped in her track as she screamed, forgetting to touch herself or to go down on him.

"Don't stop." Nick commended but Judy was too far gone.

Instead he released her ears and Neck and put both of his paw to her hips. Where before he had been the one to set the pace but Judy was still the one to make the movement, Nick was now fully in charge. Barely had she recovered from her orgasm that Nick started slamming into her fast and hard.

"I said don't stop." He grunted. "don't stop touching yourself, no matter what!"

Judy did as she was ordered and resumed rubbing herself The way Nick was being possessive and rough made her feel like she was being helplessly fucked by a big bad predator, and she loved it. The feeling was only deepened when Nick grabbed her ears again, but with his teeth this time. Still high from her last climax, she began to orgasm again but this time never stopping touching herself as Nick had asked. Orgasm after orgasm kept rolling through with barely any time between them and she was starting to feel exhausted. Nick had asked her not to stop however and she would do as he told her. Everything disappeared around her to leave only the feeling of her fox slamming deep inside her.

She could tell that Nick was close too. The continuous ripples of her convulsing vagina rushing him towards the finish line. She felt the way his breath was becoming shallow and how his thrust become more erratic, shorter and faster.

"Oh Ni- Ah! Nick… hmmm… knot me please!"

The invitation was all he needed. Hearing her voice begging him to take her sent him over the edge and with a few deep thrust, his knot made it past her outer walls just as she climaxed for a last time. He felt himself being milked of his seed as his cock spurted his cum inside her. Nick wondered if he had ever released this much as he felt Judy being completely filled to the point that some of his semen made it past their junction.

Both were now exhausted and completely out of breath. Judy tired to turn around to face him but stopped when Nick winced.

"Don't. Just… stay still."

Her disappointment at not being able to kiss him was short lived as Nick laid her down next to him and hugged her from behind. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before nuzzling her. she responded with a soft hum and closed her eyes as she got comfortable with him spooning her.

"I love you" she whipsered.

"So do I fluff… so do I…"

They were both asleep within minutes…

**[=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=]**

* * *

Wolford was typing on one of the server room's terminal.

His little altercation with Bogo earlier had put him on edge, and for good reasons . He doubted that the chief had believed him and the fact that he didn't call him out on his bluff made it all the more worrying. Bogo was not someone to mess with and if he suspected what he was doing… well it could be bad for him.

Then came a thought. Clawhauser had explained that Hopps and Wilde believed there was a traitor among them. What if chief Bogo was the one?

Wolford scolded himself. It couldn't be… could it?

Shaking his head, Wolford turned back to the task at paw. He didn't know what Hopps and Wilde wanted with those video feeds. He had looked at them once before and he was positive no platypus had been in and out of that building, at least not one caught by the cams. Still, if they thought it would help then he was happy to comply. There's no way anyone would ever convince him that those two would do anything against the force.

Wolford spotted the files and downloaded a copy onto his USB drive. He really hoped they could find something on there that he didn't, otherwise he had a bad feeling about this whole situation…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know what you're wondering: "Dude, what's the bad news?" Well here it goes. I'll be in vacation till' the end of the month. What? You ask. Well yeah, I'm doing a back pack trip with one of my friend through Switzerland and Italy. Hey, who knows I might get some ideas for Resistance while I'm learning about history there. Anyways, I'll try to have the next chapter of resistance ready as soon as I'm back.
> 
> You know, 9/10 doctors recommend leaving comments to help authors write faster. I'm leaving in three days maybe if you try it I might be able to post a chapter mid travel...


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